Bloemen, een vlieg en een slak 1594

Nicolaes de Bruyn made this print, "Flowers, a Fly and a Snail", likely in the early 17th century. It is an etching – a process that involves covering a metal plate with a waxy, protective layer, then drawing through it with a sharp needle. The plate is then submerged in acid, which bites into the exposed lines, leaving an image that can be inked and printed. The appeal of etching was that it allowed for a relatively quick and expressive approach to image-making. Think of it as the difference between writing a flowing cursive hand, and the labor of building up letterforms through calligraphy. This print is not so different from a page of rapid notes, recording observations of the natural world. The individual flowers, insects and snail are all rendered with attention to detail, as if to give a complete picture. Through a demanding, indirect process, de Bruyn was after all able to capture a sense of vitality. The print bridges the divide between objective observation, craft, and fine art.