Cartouche van palmbladeren en lauriertakken c. 1670 - 1680

This print, "Cartouche van palmbladeren en lauriertakken," was made by Lodovico Mattioli, an Italian printmaker active in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. It’s an etching, made by drawing into a wax ground laid on a metal plate, then bathing the plate in acid. The lines that are etched become grooves, which hold ink. Then the plate is wiped clean, and paper is pressed onto it in a printing press, transferring the ink from the grooves to the page. The lines in Mattioli's print are delicate, capturing the texture of palm and laurel leaves. The print is purely linear, so the artist suggests volume and light through hatching and cross-hatching techniques. The image itself depicts an ornamental frame, a cartouche, decorated with symbolic motifs. The precision and control required for etching meant that it was perfectly suited to the production of ornament prints like this one. Mattioli likely would have been a skilled and seasoned craftsman, whose labor allowed for the mass production of images to be circulated widely. Appreciating prints like these allows us to question distinctions between fine art and craft, and understand them as products of skilled work.