Rest on the flight into Egypt, Mary holding and looking at the infant Christ while St. Joseph reads 1632 - 1642

Simone Cantarini made this small etching, "Rest on the Flight into Egypt," sometime in the first half of the 17th century. An etching is essentially an inked drawing, transferred onto paper using acid to bite lines into a metal plate. You can see the crispness of the lines, a mark of the etcher's skill. Look closely, and you'll notice how Cantarini has used varied densities of line to create areas of light and shade. This use of line is crucial to the image’s overall effect. The economy of line and the small scale lend the image an intimacy that is characteristic of etchings, often admired by collectors. Prints like this one allowed artists to reach a broad audience, and to participate in a network of exchange and influence. As such, it's an early example of mass media, where skill and artistry are put in the service of widespread visual communication. By understanding the material and process, we gain a richer appreciation of the image's historical and cultural significance, and the printmaking tradition as a whole.