Fontana dei Draghi in de tuinen van de Villa d'Este te Tivoli 1653 - 1691

This print, made by Giovanni Francesco Venturini around 1700, captures the Fontana dei Draghi in the gardens of the Villa d'Este, using the technique of etching. The crisp lines and precise details are a testament to the artist’s skill with the etching needle and acid. To create this image, Venturini would have covered a metal plate with a waxy ground, drawn his design through the ground to expose the metal, and then immersed the plate in acid. The acid bites into the exposed metal, creating lines that hold ink. It's a process that demands careful planning and control, but allows for intricate detail. Consider the social context of this print. It served as a means of disseminating the image of the Villa d’Este to a wider audience. This was a time before photography, where the circulation of images was tied to skilled labor and printmaking techniques, offering glimpses of elite spaces to those who might never visit them. The print is not just an image; it's a record of human skill, technical knowledge, and the social structures of its time, challenging our assumptions about art and craft.