Man and Woman Holding Hands by Agostino Veneziano

Man and Woman Holding Hands

1516 - 1517

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Artwork details

Medium
drawing, print, engraving
Dimensions
7 1/2 x 4 13/16 in. (19.0 x 12.2 cm)
Location
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Copyright
Public Domain

Tags

#portrait#drawing#print#caricature#figuration#pencil drawing#history-painting#italian-renaissance#engraving

About this artwork

Agostino Veneziano made this engraving of a man and woman holding hands sometime in the early 16th century. The seemingly simple image is made by cutting lines into a copper plate, applying ink, and then pressing the plate onto paper. The bold lines, densely packed hatching, and controlled burr all influence the final image. It speaks to the artist's refined technical ability, and the amount of labor involved in the production process. The act of engraving transforms metal into a matrix for reproducible images, connecting the work to the rise of print culture. The relatively small size of the print allowed for wider distribution and consumption. Here we can see how printmaking democratized art, making it more accessible across different social classes, in ways that paintings and sculptures never could. This challenges the distinction between high art and craft. The materiality and processes are key to understanding its cultural impact.

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