Gelijkenis van de pachters van de wijngaard 1629

This is a woodcut, made by Christoffel van Sichem the Younger, probably in the early 17th century. The image illustrates the Parable of the Wicked Tenants, and would have been made by carving an image into a block of wood, inking it, and pressing it onto paper. Consider the amount of physical labor involved. Each line is a careful removal of material. The dense hatching of the architecture creates a strong contrast with the figures in the foreground. The artist, Sichem, was part of a family workshop specializing in this kind of printmaking. It’s a medium perfectly suited to the mass production of images, and the dissemination of biblical stories. Woodcut is an old technique, but here it’s being put to use in a relatively new context: the print market. The relatively low cost of production meant that these images were accessible to a broad public. So while it may seem a world away from contemporary art, this little print shows how images became enmeshed with labor, politics, and consumption. It challenges traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.