Noach bouwt de ark 1675

Cesare Fantetti's "Noah Building the Ark", made around 1660-1675, is an engraving, a printmaking technique that relies on the controlled removal of material. Look closely and you can see the hatched lines that build up tone and describe form. This wasn't just drawing, it was manual labor. Each line meticulously cut into the metal plate with a burin. The artist’s hand guided the tool to create a composition that is part drawing and part sculpture. The image itself depicts the ultimate construction project. The figures around Noah are immersed in their labor: chopping, sawing, lifting. They are realizing a design that comes from above. Consider the cultural significance of this scene. Is it not only about salvation through divine intervention, but also about the dignity of work? About taking raw materials and shaping them, board by board, into something that can carry us through the storm? The value here, literally, is embedded in the making.