Joseph Kneels with the Child before Mary on the Donkey 1750 - 1753

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo created this print using etching, a process dependent on the division of labour. The image was incised into a metal plate, probably copper, using acid to bite the lines, and the plate was then inked and pressed onto paper. Tiepolo’s technique, which involved complex cross-hatching, shows confidence and skill. The result is a very fine network of lines, creating a full range of tones, with a softness that approaches the effect of drawing. The print medium itself had a social context. While drawing was unique, prints such as this one were made in multiples, to be distributed widely. The creation and distribution of prints was an important part of early capitalism. Consider too, the labor involved in producing the paper itself, and the skilled work of the printer pulling each impression. Prints like this one occupied a space between the unique art object and a mass-produced image. Paying attention to these factors allows us to appreciate the complex cultural work that prints have always performed.