Male figure holding a flute reclining on a rock and pointing over the heads of two children, from "The Triton Group" 1655 - 1666

Salvator Rosa made this etching, "Male figure holding a flute reclining on a rock and pointing over the heads of two children," using a copper plate, sometime before his death in 1673. The image is made up of lines incised into the metal, which would have been a laborious process, done in reverse with a sharp tool. Note how Rosa varies the marks to describe the figures and the landscape, from dense areas of shadow to very light areas. Etching was a popular method of reproducing images at the time, and this print would have circulated widely. Think of it as the Instagram of its day. Unlike painting or sculpture, printmaking allowed artists to reach a much broader audience, engaging a kind of early form of mass media. So, when looking at this image, consider not only the mythological scene it depicts, but also the labor and the social context of its making. It's a reminder that even seemingly straightforward images have complex stories to tell.