A Course on the art of Measurement with Compass and Ruler in Straight Lines with Wholes Bodies Provided and Brought Together by Albrecht Dürer for the Benefit of all Art Lovers Delivered for Printing with Additional Figures in the Year 1525" 1525 - 1603

This woodcut, from Albrecht Dürer’s treatise on measurement, was printed in 1525. The image depicts a device designed to aid the accurate depiction of objects in perspective. The woodcut medium is critical here, and was at its height of cultural importance at the time. Note the relative crudeness of the lines and the use of hatching to create tonal variation. Dürer was of course capable of much finer work, and this suggests he was deliberately keeping his method accessible, so that others could easily replicate his process. The image shows the device in action: a lute is set on a table, while two men use the apparatus to trace the instrument's outline. This allows for its accurate representation in two dimensions. The image not only demonstrates a technique of measurement but also embodies the broader social and economic shifts that occurred alongside the rise of printmaking. Dürer's choice of a relatively inexpensive medium democratized knowledge. The image embodies a transferrable technology and the potential for mass production. This was completely in keeping with the growing influence of mercantile capitalism.