Plate 4: Alexander Battling the Persians, from The Deeds of Alexander the Great 1608

This print, Alexander Battling the Persians, was made by Antonio Tempesta, a prolific Italian artist of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. It's an engraving, meaning that Tempesta used a tool called a burin to cut lines into a copper plate, which was then inked and printed. Look closely, and you'll see a dense network of lines, describing the chaos of battle. What’s remarkable is the sheer labor involved in this kind of image making. Every stroke had to be physically incised into the metal. Consider this in relation to the subject – an imperial conquest won by the sword. In a way, Tempesta was performing his own kind of labor, etching away at the copper just as Alexander’s troops cut down the Persian army. Prints like this were relatively inexpensive, and could be distributed widely. So in addition to being a bravura display of skill, this image is also an early example of mass media, disseminating stories of power and glory. It reminds us that materials and techniques are never neutral. They always carry social and cultural meaning.