Leden van Spaanse en Italiaanse raden, nr. 33 1559 - 1619

This engraving of members of Spanish and Italian councils was made around 1600 by Joannes van (I) Doetechum. Its lines were etched into a copper plate, then printed onto paper – a relatively new technology at the time. The process gives the image its character. Look closely, and you’ll see the lines are not perfectly regular, giving the figures a kind of nervous energy. The amount of work involved in creating this image – the drawing, the etching, the printing – speaks to the value placed on disseminating information in this period. Consider also the social context: printmaking allowed for the relatively inexpensive reproduction of images, fueling the spread of knowledge, and also solidifying social hierarchies through portraiture. Though not as immediate as a painting, or as structurally imposing as sculpture, the print was a powerful tool for communication. It could also solidify the status of the depicted subjects. This print reminds us that art is always entangled with the technologies and social structures of its time. We shouldn’t separate it from the means and modes of its production.