Neptune Plotting the Destruction of Man 1589

This print, Neptune Plotting the Destruction of Man, was made by Hendrick Goltzius around the turn of the 17th century, using the intaglio process of engraving. Notice the incredible amount of labor involved in creating the image. Every line you see was physically cut into a copper plate with a tool called a burin. This was a highly skilled tradition, with prints like these being produced in multiples. Intaglio printing allowed for the wide distribution of images and ideas, and this print shows Neptune, god of the sea, poised to unleash a deluge upon humanity. Look at the ways Goltzius models form, not with broad areas of tone, but with systems of hatching. See, too, how he renders different textures, from the rippling water to the muscular bodies of the gods. In the end, it's the careful modulation of line that gives the scene its dramatic force. It reminds us that even prints, which we think of as multiples, are the result of unique artistic labor.