Maria met Christus en Johannes de Doper als kind c. 1590 - 1601

This engraving was made by Zacharias Dolendo around the turn of the 17th century, using a technique that was then at its height. Engraving, unlike woodcut, is an intaglio process. The artist incises lines directly into a metal plate – usually copper – using a tool called a burin. This requires considerable force and control. The deeper the line, the more ink it will hold, and thus the darker it will appear in the print. The engraver can create a wide range of tonal effects, as we see here in the soft gradations of Mary’s face and the delicate folds of fabric. But there’s more to it than virtuosity. Consider the social context. Engravings like this one were relatively cheap to produce, and could be widely disseminated. They were a crucial means of spreading religious imagery, and also of building an artist's reputation. In this way, the graphic arts played a key role in the rise of a new visual culture. It democratized the image.