Vlakdecoratie met trofee met wapenrusting 1516 - 1565

This print of a trophy with armor decoration, now in the Rijksmuseum, was made with engraving, a process involving meticulous carving into a metal plate. The sharp lines and precise details owe themselves to the engraver's burin, a tool used to directly incise the metal. Think about the physical effort required to create such a complex composition out of unyielding material. The pattern is essentially made of lines and hatching - areas of shadow, built out of dense marks. The image’s texture comes entirely from that, built layer upon layer. This painstaking process underscores the value placed on skilled handwork in the pre-industrial era. While we don't know the social context, we can safely assume that the engraver was a professional, his labor intended for a specific purpose. Perhaps this print served as a model for an artisan, who would then translate it into another medium, like wood or stone. Recognizing the labor involved invites us to look beyond the image itself, and to consider the world of craft that made it possible.