Embleem met man die God dankt voor al zijn goede daden 1620

This emblem, showing a man thanking God, was made by Boëtius Adamsz. Bolswert using the technique of engraving. The image is composed of delicate lines cut into a metal plate. The artist would have used a tool called a burin to manually carve the design, and then the plate would be inked and pressed onto paper. The character of the lines, and the way they are built up into areas of tone, are really what gives this print its power. Look closely and you can see the incredible labor involved. As a design intended for dissemination – to be reproduced and distributed – the image is very much a product of its time. Bolswert was not working alone, but within a sophisticated ecosystem of publishers and consumers. In his image, the artist suggests that human beings can be shielded from the devil, if they have faith in God. He likely hoped that by producing and distributing these printed images, he was also contributing to the salvation of others.