Visioen van Helena 1515 - 1570

This print, "Vision of Helena," was made by an anonymous artist, using the intaglio process of etching. Lines are incised into a metal plate, acid-etched to deepen them, and then inked, before being transferred to paper under immense pressure. The result is an image with a distinctive, slightly rough texture, created by the way the paper is forced into the etched lines. Look closely, and you can see how the artist uses hatching and cross-hatching, layering the lines to create areas of shadow and depth. The overall effect, dependent on the artist’s control of time and acid, is a tonal range from delicate grays to the deepest blacks. Prints like these were relatively inexpensive, making art accessible to a wider audience. This particular print, with its biblical subject matter, reflects the social and religious context of its time, demonstrating how the skilled labor involved in printmaking could bring both art and ideas to the masses.