Inname van den Briel 1722 - 1784

This engraving, "Inname van den Briel," was made by Simon Fokke, likely in the mid-18th century. The medium is printing, specifically etching, which is an indirect process of image-making. The visual texture created by the dense network of etched lines gives the print its distinctive character. The image is built up line by line, and these lines form the entire tonal range of the image. It’s a world away from a unique, hand-wrought artwork, and yet there is a great deal of skill required in the drawing, in the preparation of the plate, and in the printing. This brings us to the core of printmaking: its reproductive capacity. The purpose is to spread a message far and wide. This particular print celebrates a historical event of Dutch bravery. But we might also consider how the print medium itself played a key role in the creation of national identity, spreading images like this one to a broad public.