Twee ridders in gevecht 1517 - 1518

This print, made by Albrecht Durer, probably around the turn of the 16th century, shows two knights fighting. It's made from a woodcut, a relief printing process, where the artist carves away the negative space, leaving the image to be printed in relief. Durer was a master of this technique, and he uses it here to create a very dynamic and detailed image. Look at the way he uses line to create the textures of the armor, the landscape, even the clouds. The image is composed of thin parallel lines, and small hatching, to build up tone, light, and shadow. Woodcut was an important technology in Durer's time, allowing for the mass production of images. This meant that art could be more widely distributed and consumed, democratizing the consumption of images, in a similar way to social media today. It took a great deal of skill to produce such high-quality prints. Durer’s ability to balance artistic expression, and the means of production, is a key element of his enduring appeal.