Vignet met een geornamenteerd ovaal met een cherubijn 17th century

This ornamental vignette with cherub was created at an unknown date by an anonymous artist using etching. The lines of the cherub and frame have been bitten into a metal plate with acid. The etcher probably built up the image in successive stages, stopping out certain areas to prevent them from being further eroded by the acid. The matrix was then inked and printed, transferring the image onto paper. In this case, the design served as a frame for text or image, common for official documents or family crests. In contrast to the unique aura of a painting, prints such as this were part of the growth of mass media and the public sphere. This vignette and others like it were essentially made to be multiplied, democratizing access to visual imagery. They remind us that the story of art is also a story of production, labor, and circulation.