Os aan het spit, plaat [PP] 1530 - 1536

Nicolaas Hogenberg made this print, "Ox on the Spit," using engraving, a meticulous intaglio process. The image is built up from countless tiny lines cut into a copper plate. This was a painstaking activity, akin to a factory of labor, where skilled artisans were needed to render such fine detail. The density of the lines creates the illusion of form, texture, and even the heat rising from the roasting ox. See how Hogenberg uses hatching to define the animal's mass, and the crowd of onlookers. The print would have been made by inking the plate, then pressing it onto paper, a process that could be repeated many times over. The print medium was a way of disseminating images widely, and as such it was closely tied to the rise of both capitalism and scientific thinking. The roasting ox is depicted with great care and precision, as though for a zoological study. But ultimately, this artwork is about the labor required to convert nature into culture, sustenance, and spectacle.