Angel supporting Christ, who is also resting on clouds 1570 - 1615

This print of an angel supporting Christ was made in the late 16th or early 17th century by Cherubino Alberti. It's an engraving, meaning that the image was incised into a metal plate, likely copper, and then printed onto paper. The linear quality of the image, with its fine hatching and cross-hatching, is a direct result of this process. Alberti would have used a tool called a burin to carefully carve lines into the metal, each one holding ink to transfer onto the page. Notice how the density of these lines creates areas of light and shadow, giving form to the figures and the billowing clouds. Engraving was a highly skilled craft, demanding precision and control. The image could be reproduced multiple times. In this way, printmaking operated as a key means of disseminating ideas widely, at a moment when the printing press was still a relatively new technology. The artist functions less as an individual genius, and more as a skilled worker embedded in a system of visual communication. Looking closely at this print reminds us of the skilled labor involved in its production, and its role in shaping religious devotion.