Vechtpartij c. 1640 - 1660

This print, called “Vechtpartij,” or “Fight,” was made in the 17th century by an artist known only as Monogrammist VH. It is a woodcut, meaning that it was made by carving an image into a block of wood, inking the surface, and pressing it onto paper. The bold lines that define the figures are a direct result of this process. The artist would have used specialized knives and gouges to remove the wood around the lines they wanted to print, leaving a raised surface that would catch the ink. The stark contrast between the black lines and the white paper gives the image a dramatic, almost brutal quality, mirroring the violent scene depicted. Prints like this were relatively inexpensive to produce and distribute, making them accessible to a wide audience. They often served as a form of social commentary, and this work shows an incident of working-class life, a chaotic brawl that might have been seen in a tavern or on the streets. The print medium itself, with its capacity for mass production, speaks to the democratization of art and information in the early modern period.