Plan of the City of Rome. Part 2 with the Trinità dei Monti, Palazzo Borghese and the Baths of Diocletian 1645

Antonio Tempesta made this print, a Plan of the City of Rome, around the turn of the 17th century. He used a technique called etching, which involves coating a metal plate with wax, scratching an image into the wax, then bathing the plate in acid. The acid bites into the exposed metal, leaving behind an engraved line that is then inked and printed. The fascinating thing here is the labor involved. Tempesta would have needed extraordinary skill as a draughtsman and etcher, and specialized knowledge of Rome's architecture. Look closely, and you can see the incredible level of detail, all achieved through the painstaking process of hand-engraving. Consider also the social context. Prints like this were luxury goods, made for a sophisticated market of collectors. The etching process allowed for multiples to be produced, but each one still required considerable effort. By appreciating the immense amount of work behind this image, we can see how the hierarchies of labor, politics, and consumption are reflected within the work itself, blurring the lines between art, craft, and industry.