Montbrison ingenomen door Des Andrets, 1562 1570

Jean Perrissin created this print, ‘Montbrison ingenomen door Des Andrets, 1562’, depicting the capture of Montbrison, using engraving techniques. The composition is dominated by a siege, a city enclosed by formidable stone walls. The artist uses line and form to convey depth, mass and movement. Notice how the visual field is structured to contrast spatial depth with surface detail. Linear perspective is used to create an impression of receding space, yet the dense concentration of figures and architectural elements in the foreground flattens the pictorial plane. Perrissin uses a semiotic system of signs in which the city signifies order and civilization, the invading army chaos and disruption. The print destabilizes fixed notions of victory and defeat, inviting deeper interpretation of the political and social forces at play in 1562. The density of lines emphasizes the tensions between containment and expansion, inviting us to reflect on the historical contingencies represented. Art, after all, is not a fixed entity, but rather a dynamic site of ongoing interpretation.