Exempel und Lehr Jetziger Welt Lauf Possibly 1622

Andreas Bretschneider made this engraving, Exempel und Lehr Jetziger Welt Lauf, using a technique of incising lines into a metal plate, probably copper, and then using ink to transfer the image onto paper. The material qualities of the print—its crisp lines and tonal range—derive directly from the labor-intensive engraving process. The artist would have used specialized tools to carve the image, building up the scene through careful, controlled marks. This approach aligns with the broader social context of printmaking at the time, which was closely tied to the rise of artisanal workshops and market economies. Prints like this one were made to be widely distributed, reflecting a shift towards mass production and consumption of visual imagery.