Woman returning from a hunt carrying a boar in her right hand and a stick on her left shoulder to which a hare and two ducks are tied 1510 - 1532

This engraving, now in the Metropolitan Museum, was made by Marco Dente in the 1520s. It shows a female figure returning from the hunt, her arm laden with a boar, a hare, and two ducks slung over her shoulder. The engraving technique used here is crucial to understanding the work's significance. Dente would have used a burin to carve lines into a copper plate. Ink would then be applied to the plate, and the surface wiped clean, leaving ink only in the incised lines. Finally, paper would be pressed onto the plate, transferring the image. The texture of the print, with its finely etched lines, gives the figure a sculptural quality, reminiscent of classical statuary. The process of engraving, requiring skill and labor, elevates the image beyond a mere representation of a huntress. It transforms it into an object of value, reflecting the humanist interest in classical antiquity that was so central to the Renaissance. This print, therefore, operates at the intersection of art, craft, and the burgeoning print market of the 16th century.