The Festival after 1520

Daniel Hopfer created this print, The Festival, using iron sometime in the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century. Hopfer was a master of etching, using acid to bite lines into the metal. The image is all about labor. Serving and preparing food. The labor of merriment, of fellowship. Even the labor of courtship, the way these young men and women are circling around one another. The making of the print itself is also work. The careful rendering of the scene, the cross-hatching that gives a sense of depth and volume. The lines must have taken weeks to complete. These kinds of prints were relatively cheap to produce, making images widely accessible. Though we don't know who originally purchased this print, it's clear that Hopfer was creating art for a new kind of consumer. The print is a great reminder that all artworks—no matter how seemingly elevated—are fundamentally rooted in the physical world.