Landschap met vlucht naar Egypte 1527 - 1567

Angelo Falconetto made this landscape with the Flight to Egypt, using the printmaking technique of etching. The artist would have covered a metal plate with a waxy ground, drawn an image into it with a sharp needle, then bathed the plate in acid to bite away the exposed lines. Etching is often seen as a relatively democratic medium, capable of capturing fine detail and nuance. Notice how Falconetto uses the technique to create a richly populated scene, full of vernacular architecture, busy laborers, and wildlife. However, the method has its own social context. Printmaking allowed for the wide distribution of images. We should consider Falconetto’s work not just as a unique artistic statement, but as part of a wider system of image production, circulation, and, ultimately, consumption. The very act of etching – with its reliance on technical skill and reproducible imagery – challenges the conventional divide between fine art and the wider world of making.