Gezicht op de Nikolaifleet tegenover de Sankt Nikolaikirche te Hamburg 1742 - 1801

This print, depicting the Nikolaifleet in Hamburg, was made by Georg Balthasar Probst in the 18th century. It's an etching, which means the image was incised into a metal plate, inked, and then printed onto paper. The coloring was added later, by hand, making each impression unique. Notice how the etching technique allows for fine, precise lines, defining the architecture and capturing the bustling activity along the canal. The even, regular distribution of buildings, and the figures populating the bridge and boats, is meticulously rendered. These were the qualities most prized in printmaking at the time, when prints like these served as a kind of mass media. The print medium itself is critical to understanding this artwork. Probst wasn't just making a pretty picture; he was participating in a commercial industry, producing images for a growing market of consumers eager to see and understand the world around them. This print is evidence of the intense labor involved in image-making, tied to wider social issues of labor, politics, and consumption. By attending to these processes, we can appreciate the work's historical and cultural significance, challenging the conventional hierarchy between art and craft.