Les Singuliers et Nouveaux Portraicts... page 70 (recto) 1588

This is page 70 from ‘Les Singuliers et Nouveaux Portraicts...’ by Federico de Vinciolo, likely printed around 1587. The engraving presents a pattern, a grid-like structure dominated by contrasting black and white squares. This stark contrast creates a high-impact visual experience, immediately drawing the eye into its detailed design. The pattern depicts a figure, possibly a goddess, reclining amidst stylized vegetation. The composition’s structure is based on a calculated arrangement of squares, and is more than decorative; it introduces a kind of proto-digital aesthetic long before the digital age. Consider how the grid imposes order, yet also abstracts the natural forms it represents. Vinciolo destabilizes the traditional notions of portraiture and naturalism by reducing the figure and surrounding elements to a series of binary choices – a square is either filled or not. The result challenges fixed meanings, inviting ongoing interpretation of form and representation, as the artist engages with innovative ways of thinking about design.