Gezicht op de kerk Saint-Ignace te Namen 1755 - 1779

This print of the Saint-Ignace Church in Namur was made by the Kaiserlich Franziskische Akademie. We can appreciate the amount of labor that goes into printmaking, which is often overlooked. The print is made using etching, a process involving coating a metal plate with wax, scratching an image into it, and then bathing the plate in acid. The acid bites away at the exposed metal, leaving behind an impression which can then be inked and printed. This would have been a skilled, laborious process, requiring expertise in metallurgy, drawing, and printing. After the printing process, the print was then carefully hand-colored, which highlights the architectural details and brings the scene to life. Consider the social context of this image. Printmaking allowed for the dissemination of images to a wider audience, yet the skilled labor involved reflects a society where artistic production was carefully managed and controlled. Recognizing the layers of making in this print encourages us to think about who had access to art, and how its production was organized.