Drie friezen met rolwerk 1622

This is a 17th century print made with etching, a process used to create highly detailed images. Here, three friezes are decorated with grotesque masks and scrollwork, a popular motif in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. To make the print, an etcher would cover a metal plate with a waxy ground, then draw through it with a sharp needle to reveal the metal underneath. When acid is applied, it bites into the exposed lines, creating grooves. Ink is then applied to the plate and wiped off the surface, leaving ink only in the etched lines. Finally, paper is pressed onto the plate, transferring the image. The image, with its complex imagery and fine lines, reflects a significant amount of labor. Prints such as these were instrumental in disseminating design ideas across Europe. Etching allowed for the relatively easy and precise reproduction of images, making art and design accessible to a wider audience, connecting craft and fine arts with wider social trends of labor and production.