Gezicht op Nijmegen met de geplande fortificaties ontworpen door Menno van Coehoorn, 1726 1726

This print, "View of Nijmegen with the planned fortifications designed by Menno van Coehoorn" was made in 1726 by an anonymous artist. It is an etching, made by incising lines into a metal plate, inking the plate, and then running it through a press to transfer the image to paper. What interests me about the print is the incredible amount of labor and skill it would have taken to produce. The etcher’s work involved a careful understanding of perspective, and an ability to translate this understanding into a composition. And look at the details of the marks themselves – the subtle gradations of tone, the textures of the water. In this period, the print was a crucial medium for the circulation of information. It allowed for the mass production of images, making art and knowledge more accessible to a wider audience. But we should also recognize the skilled work that went into the production of even seemingly simple images like this one. By considering the print in this way, we can appreciate the artistic craft involved in its creation.