Verovering van Tienen, 1635 1649 - 1651

This is a print made in 1635 by an anonymous artist, depicting the siege of Tienen. What is immediately striking is the starkness of the print, the product of the incised lines on the metal plate, which would likely have been copper. Here, the material is critical. The artist uses the incised line to describe the siege in great detail. This work would have required a very high level of skill and precision, which speaks to a long tradition of printmaking and metalworking. It is no accident that printing flourished in regions with strong metalworking industries. This was not art for art’s sake. Prints such as this were key instruments of political communication and control. By circulating such images, the events could be visually reported, and power demonstrated, as a tool of propaganda. This print shows the power of combining material processes and social context.