Draak in de moerassen buiten Rome 1696

This engraving of a dragon in the marshes outside Rome was made in 1696 by Cornelis Meijer. As an engraving, the image is created by cutting lines into a metal plate, which are then filled with ink and printed onto paper. The medium is crucial here. The incised lines give the dragon and the landscape a stark, linear quality, emphasizing detail and texture. Look closely at the dragon's scales and wings, as well as the marshland it inhabits, and note how the cross-hatching creates a sense of depth and shadow. Engraving was a skilled craft, demanding precision and control. Here, it's harnessed not for a precious object, but a printed image, indicative of a shift towards wider distribution and consumption of images in the 17th century. The image's existence relies on both the artist's skill and the printing press, a technology driven by commercial demand. This piece blurs the line between art object and mass-produced commodity, reflecting the changing landscape of art and labor in early modern Europe.