Susanna en de ouderlingen 1628

This print of Susanna and the Elders was made in the early 17th century by Giovanni Battista Pasqualini, using etching. This is an intaglio process, where lines are incised into a metal plate with acid, then filled with ink and pressed onto paper. Note how the line work defines every detail, from the folds of the fabric to the figures' expressions. Etching was a relatively new technology at this time, part of a broader surge in printmaking. This made images more accessible and circulated ideas more widely. Consider the labor involved: the skilled hand of the etcher, the workshop setting, and the economic forces driving the production and consumption of these images. Though seemingly distant from industrial production, the print participates in an early form of mass media. This puts it squarely in the history of capitalism and its evolving visual culture, a far cry from older modes of art production.