Ridder, Dood en Duivel after 1513

This print, "Knight, Death and the Devil", was made by an anonymous artist using the technique of engraving. Here, a copper plate would have been painstakingly incised with lines to hold ink. This process required immense skill and control; the burin is pushed through the metal, not drawn, so the engraver must have been well versed in the properties of the material, to avoid slips or unintended marks. Look closely, and you will see how the density of these etched lines creates areas of tone, building up the image in intricate detail. This method of image production was crucial to the spread of ideas in early modern Europe, making art accessible to a much wider audience. Though technically complex, prints were relatively cheap to produce and disseminate, and as such this is a powerful example of how the traditional craft of engraving became entangled with the advent of mass media, influencing popular visual culture.