Coast View with the Embarkation of Carlo and Ubaldo 1744

Pierre Charles Canot made this print, Coast View with the Embarkation of Carlo and Ubaldo, sometime in the 18th century. It is an engraving, meaning that the artist would have used a tool called a burin to manually cut lines into a metal plate, which was then inked and printed onto paper. Look closely, and you can see how the density of the marks creates different effects of light and shadow. The entire image relies on this vocabulary of line, which is remarkable when you consider the naturalistic scene Canot is depicting. The figures, the trees, the water – all are translated into this graphic language. Consider how much labor was involved in this process. Canot would have been working within a well-established printmaking industry, where the division of labor was common. He may have been one of several hands involved in the print’s production. It’s easy to overlook the means by which images like this one came into being. Yet understanding the material and social context of their making is key to understanding their place in the world.