Cavalry Attack with Soldiers Fleeing 

Antonio Tempesta made this print, Cavalry Attack with Soldiers Fleeing, using a technique called etching. It’s a printmaking process that involves biting lines into a metal plate with acid, and then using that plate to transfer an image onto paper. You might think of etching as a kind of industrial process. In fact, etching was used to decorate armor, and the knowledge of acid-resist techniques came directly out of metalworking. The lines you see in this print are not unlike the linear patterns you’d find on a sword hilt. Tempesta knew that this way of making was perfect for depicting the chaos of battle: the acid gives an uncontrolled, explosive quality to the lines. Look closely and you can see how the dynamic compositions capture the immediacy of war. Ultimately, considering the process of production helps us understand how a work of art is tied to wider cultural and technological developments. It challenges the separation of art from craft, showing that artistry can be found even in industrial techniques.