Engel met geselpaal en gesels c. 1581 - 1645

This engraving of an angel with a discipline and scourges was made by Karel van Mallery sometime between the late 16th and mid-17th centuries. The primary material here is the copperplate itself, which is incised with lines to create a dense network of marks. Look closely, and you can see that the character of these lines varies considerably, depending on the effect that van Mallery was after. At the angel’s face, the marks are light and delicate; by contrast, the shadows are achieved with closely packed hatching. Note, too, the column to the angel’s left, which is wound with rope and implements of flagellation. The angel directs our eye to these instruments, reinforcing their symbolic power. The print medium was ideal for the dissemination of devotional images like this. The relative ease with which copperplates could be reproduced, and the fineness of detail they could achieve, meant that the experience of beholding art was no longer exclusive to the wealthy. With prints like this, we see the rise of a new visual culture, one in which making, materials, and social context are inextricably linked.