Gezicht op het kasteel Bourbon-l'Archambault 1651

Israel Silvestre created this print of the Château de Bourbon-l'Archambault, using etching, sometime in the 17th century. Etching involves biting lines into a metal plate with acid, then inking the plate and pressing it onto paper. The fineness of line that you see here is typical of the technique. But of course, the print itself represents another kind of material altogether: stone. Look at how Silvestre has rendered the weathered surfaces of the castle. These surfaces speak to histories of quarrying, masonry, and labor – generations of stoneworkers who extracted and shaped these blocks. Consider the contrast between their efforts, and the ease with which Silvestre could evoke their efforts on paper. Ultimately, this image invites us to think about the relationship between different kinds of work: the physical labor of building, and the more cerebral work of representation. Neither exists without the other.