St. Sebastian's Fair 1550 - 1610

This print of St. Sebastian's Fair was made by an anonymous artist using engraving. The material itself, copper, played a crucial role in determining the image's fine, linear quality. To make this print, the artist would have used a tool called a burin to manually cut lines into the copper plate. Ink was then applied to the plate and carefully wiped off the surface, remaining only in the incised lines. The image was transferred to paper under high pressure in a printing press, resulting in the final print. The detailed rendering of the festive scene, with its many figures and architectural elements, speaks to the artist’s skill and labor. But this wasn't just artistry. Prints like this were commodities, made to be widely distributed and consumed. The artist was therefore working within an early system of mass production, translating a popular subject into a readily available format. Understanding the material and the making process gives us insight into the economic and social context of this work, and how it blurs the lines between art, craft, and industry.