Uilen, valken of haviken

Wenceslaus Hollar made this print of owls, falcons and hawks using etching, a printmaking technique that requires the skilled labor of a trained artisan. The image is achieved by incising lines into a metal plate, inking the plate, and then pressing it onto paper. The quality of the print depends on the artist's mastery of the etching process, including the preparation of the plate, the application of the acid, and the control of the printing press. The evenness of the lines, the consistency of the ink, and the overall clarity of the image, all speak to Hollar’s technical expertise. But, the image also reflects social status, depicting hunting birds, which were expensive to keep and train, and were associated with aristocratic privilege. We see a direct connection between modes of production, labor and class, that goes beyond just aesthetics.