Slag bij Dreux, eerste treffen, 1562 c. 1567 - 1571

Frans Hogenberg's "Slag bij Dreux, eerste treffen, 1562" was created sometime around 1562, and rendered as an engraving. The lines were incised into a metal plate, which would have been time-consuming and required a lot of expertise. Hogenberg was one of the most productive printmakers of his day, part of a sophisticated and rapidly expanding industry. The lines in the image are incredibly tight and dense, conveying a sense of the sheer number of people involved in the battle. The materiality of the printmaking process, in this case, reinforces the feeling of a teeming, chaotic battle scene. It really brings out the intensity and violence of the battle being depicted. This image is also an early example of information graphics, a response to the rise of newspapers. It invites us to consider the image not just as a work of art, but as a form of documentation, a visual record of a historical event, made possible by the relatively recent invention of the printing press. It’s a reminder that art is always embedded in its social and technological context.