Landschap met kalkoen 1659

Albert Flamen created this etching, *Landschap met kalkoen*, using metal plate and acid. The landscape with turkey reveals much about the meeting of fine art and natural science in the 17th century. The etching process involves covering a metal plate with a waxy, acid-resistant coating, and then using a needle to scratch away the coating and reveal the metal underneath. When the plate is dipped in acid, the exposed lines are eaten away, creating an image that can then be inked and printed. Here, the etched lines are delicate and precise. Look at the details in the turkey's feathers, meticulously rendered. The image feels scientific, like an attempt to accurately record the bird. Yet the way Flamen uses line, both densely and sparsely, adds real artistic flair. The turkey itself is significant, having arrived in Europe only a century before. The print testifies to a moment of global exchange, and the integration of new species into the European landscape—and imagination. It challenges us to consider the labor involved in both artmaking and natural observation.