September 1652 - 1711

Henri Bonnart made this print, titled September, using engraving techniques. The lines you see weren't drawn freely, but rather cut into a copper plate with a tool called a burin. The plate was then inked, and the image transferred to paper under high pressure. Note the incredible detail. All the varying tones are achieved through the density and direction of the engraved lines. Look closely at the woman’s drapery, the texture of the grape leaves, and the barrel she leans on. Consider the labor involved in creating this image – the hours of painstaking work required to produce such fine lines. Prints like this were commercial products, often bound into books or sold as individual sheets. They speak to an emerging culture of mass production and consumption, where images became increasingly accessible to a wider audience. By understanding the process and materials behind this print, we can appreciate its artistic value and gain insight into the social and economic context in which it was created.