Verovering van de Franse kanonneerboot Ste. Lucie, 1793 1793

Govert Kitsen created this print, entitled "Verovering van de Franse kanonneerboot Ste. Lucie, 1793," using etching and engraving. These are printmaking techniques, which involve working an image into a metal plate, applying ink, and then running the plate through a press to transfer the image to paper. Think about the amount of labor involved in this method. First, the artist would have to create the composition and transfer it to the plate. Then, using specialized tools, he would carefully incise lines into the metal, building up the image bit by bit. Printmaking made images more widely available at this time, but this was still skilled work. The density of line you see here, and the fineness of detail, speaks to Kitsen's expertise. The print celebrates a military victory; it's a piece of propaganda, designed to stir patriotic sentiment. But it is also a testament to the slow, deliberate craft that made such widespread distribution possible. And it reminds us that even seemingly mass-produced images have an origin in careful, hand-based labor.