Het toneel van alderhande postuuren 1767 - 1793

This print, titled *Het toneel van alderhande postuuren*, was made by Erven Hendrik van der Putte. It’s an example of woodcut, a relief printing process dating back centuries. To create the print, the artist would have used specialized carving tools to cut away areas of a woodblock, leaving a raised design. Ink would then be applied to this surface, and the image transferred to paper under pressure. The blocks could have been reused for later printings, a way to mass produce images for popular consumption. If you look closely, you can see the linear quality of the woodcut technique. It's visible in the outlines of the figures and objects, filled in with red and blue washes. The relatively coarse nature of the print emphasizes the labor involved in its production, the careful handwork of carving in wood, and the repetitive process of printing, which also speaks to a broader system of production and consumption. The image hints at the complex relations between artistic creation, manual work, and social life. It invites us to consider the many hands involved in the making and distribution of such images, challenging our understanding of art as solely the product of individual genius.