The Enclosed Valley c. 1625 - 1630

Hercules Segers made this print, "The Enclosed Valley," sometime in the early 17th century, using etching, a printmaking process that involves biting lines into a metal plate with acid. Segers was a true material innovator. He often printed his plates in color, on textiles rather than paper, and with a textured surface. These choices yielded unpredictable results, with each impression being unique. Here, the rough, granular texture gives the landscape a primeval feel, as if we are looking at the world in the very first days of its formation. The scene becomes not just a representation, but also a physical thing, an artifact. It's tempting to think about Segers's methods in relation to the rise of industrialization. While printmaking had been a reproductive medium for a century, Segers pushed against this logic. He wanted to make multiples that weren't identical. In a world of increasing mechanization, he insisted on the value of the handmade, transforming a repeatable medium into something closer to original art.