Palatijn te Rome 1575

Étienne Dupérac made this print of the Palatine Hill in Rome using engraving, a painstaking process of incising lines into a metal plate, inking it, and pressing it onto paper. The stark contrast between the ink and paper gives a graphic clarity to the image. Think about the hand-eye coordination, the precision required to render complex architectural details and the crumbling ruins of the Palatine Hill using only lines. The linear quality emphasizes the geometry of the Roman architecture, a testament to human engineering, while also hinting at the ravages of time. Dupérac's labor-intensive printmaking process highlights a tension between the precision of the engraving and the ruinous state of the depicted architecture. This reminds us that materials, making, and context are intertwined, challenging the separation of craft from fine art and prompting reflection on labor, skill, and time.