Vloot op een onrustige zee 1765

This print, "Vloot op een onrustige zee", was made by Pierre Charles Canot, sometime in the 1700s. It's an etching, meaning that the image was incised into a metal plate, inked, and then transferred to paper. What I find compelling about prints like this is the way they capture the spirit of industry and commerce. The labor of the sailors is front and center, braving the "onrustige zee," or "restless sea," as the title says. But, also consider the labor involved in producing the print itself. Think of the skilled engraver, carefully translating the scene onto the copper plate. This was a painstaking, time-intensive process, demanding precision and control. The finished print could then be reproduced in multiples, and distributed widely. This speaks to a whole system of production, distribution and consumption, not unlike the global networks of trade that these ships represent. So, next time you look at a print like this, don't just see a pretty picture – consider the layers of work and context embedded within it.