Polexandre knielt voor een vrouw 1637

Abraham Bosse made this print, "Polexandre kneels before a woman," in Paris, sometime in the mid-17th century. As an engraving, it’s the result of an exacting, repetitive process. Bosse would have used a tool called a burin to cut lines into a copper plate, effectively turning the metal into a matrix for printing. Notice the precision of the lines, creating contrasts of dark and light. This allowed Bosse to depict an entire scene with figures in a landscape. He was among the first artists to popularize this technique, which made images widely available at relatively low cost. Bosse was a master of perspective and also published instructional manuals on the subject. What is also relevant is that he came from a family of artisans. Through printmaking, he took part in a world that was rapidly changing, becoming more accessible and commercial. This engraving speaks to the democratization of image-making, a key development in early modern Europe. By understanding its materiality and context, we can appreciate how it blurred the boundaries between art, craft, and commerce.