Stad op schiereiland 1617 - 1660

This is a print of a city on a peninsula, made by Matthieu van Plattenberg in the mid-17th century. Plattenberg, also known as Montaigne, made this image using the intaglio process. A metal plate, likely copper, was incised with lines, likely through the use of acid. Ink was then rubbed into these lines, and the plate pressed onto a sheet of paper. The material qualities of the print, the fine lines and delicate shading, give the image a sense of precision and detail. The city is rendered in miniature, yet the artist manages to convey a sense of its bustling activity. The textures of the water, the buildings, and the sky are all carefully delineated. The intaglio printmaking process was a highly skilled craft, requiring years of training to master. It was also a relatively labor-intensive process. Yet, the resulting prints could be reproduced in large numbers, making them accessible to a wide audience. This points to the way that printmaking was tied to wider social issues of labor, politics, and consumption in the 17th century. Thinking about the materials, making, and context of this print allows us to appreciate its full meaning.