Gezicht op het interieur van het huis van Goldini, te Rome 19th century

This engraving of the interior of Goldini’s house in Rome was made by the Monogrammist IH. The image is rendered through the meticulous cutting of lines into a metal plate. The varying density of these lines creates the illusion of shadow and form. Look closely, and you can see how the engraver has used hatching and cross-hatching to build up tone and texture. Engraving was a highly skilled trade, demanding years of training. It was also a painstaking process. The engraver would have worked from a drawing, carefully transferring the design onto the plate before beginning to cut. The precision and control required to execute such fine lines are remarkable. In its time, prints like these democratized access to images, circulating views of architecture and life that would otherwise be limited to those who could travel. The print represents a system of labor, class, and consumption through distribution, challenging the traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.