Beleg van Tournai, 1709 1709

Jacobus Harrewijn made this print in 1709, using etching and engraving on paper. These printing processes, requiring careful work with acid and sharp tools, were crucial for disseminating information quickly and widely. Note the density of the lines, building up the image from a matrix. Harrewijn would have coated a copper plate with wax, drawn into it with a needle, and then bathed the plate in acid, biting away the exposed lines. The more time spent in the acid bath, the deeper and darker the lines. This skilled labor, requiring precision and control, mirrors the engineering of the city itself. Look at the sheer amount of labor embedded in both the making of the city, with its imposing fortifications, and the making of the print, with its meticulous detail. In its own way, this print is as much an artifact of early modern industry as the city it depicts. Seeing this, we can understand how the supposed "fine art" of printmaking was actually a key tool of political and economic power.