Enoch and his family surrounding a meal table and holding their hands in a gesture of prayer; behind them is the open end of house; to the right a woman hands out bread to a child, young man, and old man 1580 - 1623

This engraving of Enoch and his family was made by Johann Theodor de Bry around the turn of the 17th century. It's a relatively small work, made by incising lines into a copper plate, inking it, and then running it through a press. Look closely, and you’ll see how the artist used the qualities of the medium to create a sense of depth and texture. Notice the crisp, clean lines that define the figures and architecture, a testament to the engraver's skill. The image is dense with detail, demanding close inspection. The printmaking process, involving repetitive labor, allowed for wider circulation of images. De Bry, with his family workshop, produced many such works. These weren't luxury objects, but affordable images for a growing market, reflecting new modes of production and consumption in early modern Europe. So, appreciating the material and process here gives us a direct line to the social context of the time.