De stamboom van Maria 1500 - 1550

This print, The Family Tree of Mary, was made anonymously using the process of engraving. Engraving is an indirect method of printing, which means that the image you see was not directly drawn onto the paper. Instead, it was achieved by using a tool called a burin to carve lines into a metal plate. The process of making the matrix for a print such as this is painstaking. The plate must be prepared, the design carefully incised, and then ink applied and wiped away, leaving it only in the engraved lines. The paper is then laid on the plate and run through a press. The pressure forces the paper into the engraved lines, picking up the ink and creating the image. This process demands patience and expertise, representing a significant investment of labor. Consider, too, that prints like this were not considered high art when they were made. Rather, they were a relatively inexpensive means of disseminating images widely. The very act of its making gave it a social purpose.