Plate 12: four street vendors from Madrid selling dried fruit, cherries, and melons, from 'Los Gritos de Madrid' (The Cries of Madrid) 1809 - 1817

This print, created around 1790 by Miguel Gamborino, shows us four street vendors of Madrid. It's an etching, a printmaking process where lines are incised into a metal plate with acid, then inked and pressed onto paper. The added color suggests a commercial intent, aimed at a middle-class audience interested in the city’s daily life. Look closely, and you’ll see a social tableau. The vendors, selling everything from dried fruit to melons, are carefully rendered, their tools of trade meticulously depicted – scales, baskets, and the goods themselves. The print isn't just a visual record, it's also about the labor of these individuals. They are literally grounded on stone blocks to give them added stature, which infers their place in the urban economy. Gamborino’s print blurs the line between art and documentation, highlighting the lives of working people and reminding us that art can be found in the everyday, challenging any high-low distinction.