Inname van Zutphen, 1591

This print, "Inname van Zutphen, 1591," was made by Frans Hogenberg, using the process of engraving. The image shows the siege of Zutphen. What is fascinating about engravings like these is how they were produced. The method involved cutting lines into a metal plate, inking the surface, then wiping it clean so that ink remained only in the incised lines. This was then printed onto paper. The image is thus built up from the accumulation of these lines. The density of the lines creates tone, and their direction suggests form. Prints such as this were essentially a form of proto-journalism, made for mass consumption. Hogenberg and others produced them in great quantity. These images are valuable documents of their time, but they also remind us that even seemingly objective records are the product of skilled handwork. Every line in this image was made through a deliberate action.