Gezicht op de Stads Geschut en Korenhuizen te Amsterdam op de hoek van de Brouwersgracht c. 1693

This print, depicting Amsterdam's storehouses at the corner of Brouwersgracht, was created by an anonymous artist using engraving. The network of lines incised into a metal plate captures light and shadow. The image shows us a city of commerce: the buildings are defined by their function of storing grain and weaponry, materials necessary for a society built on trade and, if need be, war. The artist's technique is well-suited to this subject. Each tiny mark of the burin, the engraver's tool, evokes the labor and precision needed to maintain such a complex urban system. This wasn't just a way to represent what the city looked like, but also to remind viewers of the infrastructure on which their prosperity depended. Engraving, often considered a ‘minor’ art, here becomes a way to understand the larger economic and political forces at play.