Monument voor paus Urbanus VIII in rivierlandschap / Werklieden op de kust Possibly 1677 - 1696

This engraving depicts a monument to Pope Urban VIII within a river landscape, alongside coastal workers, likely dating from the 17th or 18th century. The image, rendered through the intricate process of engraving, uses carefully incised lines on a metal plate to create a detailed composition. The material of the print is less important than the processes it depicts: the construction of monuments, and the labor required to literally move mountains. We see figures carrying loads on their heads and backs, or operating levers. There's a sharp contrast between the monument, built to commemorate power, and the manual labor that makes such construction possible. The print's purpose may have been didactic, to show the techniques of engineering. By showing the labor required to build monuments, the print quietly acknowledges the social context of power and the many hands required to build lasting legacies.