Kinderkruistocht Possibly 1522 - 1800

Monogrammist LIW created this striking print, ‘Kinderkruistocht’, sometime between 1490 and 1550, using the technique of engraving. The linear quality we see here depends entirely on the manipulation of a metal plate, into which the design has been painstakingly incised. The artist would have used a tool called a burin to physically cut the lines into the copper, a skilled tradition mastered over years of practice. Ink is then forced into these lines, and the surface wiped clean, so that the image can be transferred to paper under great pressure. Prints like this one were essentially commercial products, made to be widely disseminated and consumed. The relatively small scale of this work speaks to that purpose; it was meant to be portable and affordable. Yet its cultural significance goes far beyond mere commerce. With its densely populated composition and allegorical theme, this print speaks to the power of images in shaping social narratives. It collapses the boundary between art object and vehicle for ideology.