Zittende man after 1635

This is ‘Zittende man,’ made by Frederick Bloemaert around the mid-17th century, using engraving. It’s not a large work; barely more than 10 cm high. But within that scale, a whole world of labor is implied. Engraving is an incisive technique, where the artist manually cuts lines into a metal plate. Bloemaert would have used a tool called a burin to plough away at the copper, removing slivers of metal. The depth and spacing of these lines determine the darkness of the printed image. It is skilled work requiring great physical control. Consider the clothing of the depicted man. We see a wealth of detail achieved only through precise mark making. A process of labor is memorialized in this image of a man at apparent leisure. Next time you encounter an engraving, remember that it represents not just an image, but also the physical effort of its making. In Bloemaert’s hands, traditional artistic skills are transformed into a kind of social document.