Annunciatie 1600 - 1620

Justus Sadeler created this engraving, “Annunciation,” sometime in the 17th century. It's made by cutting lines into a copper plate, inking the surface, and then printing the image onto paper. What’s interesting here is the split composition. On one side, we see laborers constructing a building; on the other, the Virgin Mary receives the divine message. The contrast is stark, between earthly labor and heavenly annunciation. Notice the workers are depicted mid-action, their tools and scaffolding creating a dynamic scene of building and progress. The engraving technique itself, with its fine, precise lines, mirrors the meticulous work of these craftsmen. Sadeler’s choice to juxtapose the scene of divine revelation with this scene of manual labor invites us to think about the relationship between the spiritual and the material. The act of building, of making, is presented almost as a parallel to the creation of new life. It suggests that art, like craft, is also a form of world-building.