Jupiter 1702

This is Romeyn de Hooghe’s “Jupiter,” made with pen and brown ink and brush and gray wash. Here, the artist uses these materials with incredible virtuosity. Notice the dynamic figure of Jupiter, seemingly suspended in the air by the clouds which have been rendered with broad strokes. His eagle companion, and the distant landscape below, feel delicate in comparison. De Hooghe makes expressive use of line and shading, capturing Jupiter’s might. But we also have to remember that this drawing was a means to an end. De Hooghe was an incredibly prolific printmaker, and this drawing would have served as a preparatory design for an engraving, and it is in the multiplication of the image through printmaking that the real social impact of De Hooghe’s work resides. So next time you see a drawing, think about its wider context within a world of mechanical reproduction. It challenges us to see the value not just in the singular art object, but in the processes of making and dissemination that bring images into the world.