Entrance of the Cardinal and Archduke Albert to Brussels in 1596 1596 - 1600

This print shows the arrival of Cardinal and Archduke Albert to Brussels in 1596, and was made anonymously, likely shortly after the event. It's an engraving, meaning the image was incised into a metal plate, probably copper, inked, and then pressed onto paper. The image presents a bird's-eye view of the procession, with an almost obsessive attention to detail. It depicts a highly choreographed display of power, every element of which, from the triumphal arches to the ship on wheels, would have required significant labor to produce. Consider the vast amount of human effort involved in executing an event of this scale, or in the creation of prints like this one. Engravings were a key means of disseminating information and shaping public perception during this period, acting as a kind of early mass media, produced through intense labor. The print is not just a record of an event, but an artifact of the complex social, economic, and political forces at play in 16th-century Europe. It challenges our conventional ideas about what constitutes art, and where craft fits in.