Laatste Oordeel (bovenste plaat) 1638 - 1658

This print, Laatste Oordeel, or The Last Judgement, was made in the Netherlands in the mid-17th century by Cornelis Visscher. It is an engraving, a process that involves cutting lines into a metal plate, applying ink, and then pressing the plate onto paper. The act of engraving requires intense labor and great skill, and its effect is sharply linear. Look closely, and you’ll notice how Visscher has used the technique to create a real sense of depth and drama. The image depicts a heavenly scene packed with figures, from God and Christ at the top to trumpeting angels and the resurrected dead at the bottom. Engravings like this were luxury items, but also part of a larger system of printmaking that democratized images and ideas in the early modern period. The very act of making these prints was a business, requiring workshops, skilled labor, and a market for the final product. By focusing on the material and the making, we see that even apparently timeless images are rooted in the social and economic realities of their time.