Kasteel Krakow ingenomen, 1605 1605 - 1607

Frans Hogenberg created this print of the ‘Siege of Krakow’ around 1605, using etching and engraving. These are both intaglio printmaking techniques, where the image is incised into a metal plate, and then ink is applied to the recessed lines. Look closely, and you can see the crisp, precise lines achieved by the engraver’s burin, alongside the more textured, less defined marks created by acid etching the plate. It took great skill to create an image with such a complex narrative using these methods. The print illustrates a specific historical moment, but it also demonstrates the broader social and cultural role of printmaking at the time. Prints like this were a key means of disseminating information and shaping public opinion, and they circulated widely across Europe. They helped people to imagine distant places and events, and to form their own understandings of political power. It is the amount of work involved in the production process that has imbued the artwork with historical significance.