Title Page for Balthasar Cordier, Catena Sexaginta Qvinqve Graecorvm Patrvm in S. Lvcam...1628

The image features a detailed black and white illustration with multiple human and animal figures in a symbolic arrangement. In the foreground, two full-body figures are depicted in long robes and sandals, positioned on either side of a large draped banner with text. One figure holds an open book. Above the banner are celestial figures in dynamic poses. To the left is a winged bull-like creature and a seated male figure with a beard, next to a female figure in classical attire. They are all surrounded by flowing fabric and a lion-like animal. In the lower center foreground, there is an emblem resembling a coat of arms with an eagle and a crowned shield. The background is textured, with no natural landscape or architecture present, allowing the figures to stand out. The illustration is framed by the margins of an open book.

Description from the National Gallery of Art.

Cornelis Galle I made this in 1628, aged 52. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

How it was made

Engraving

Lines cut directly into a metal plate with a steel burin, which makes them swell and taper. It took years to master, and for centuries it was how paintings travelled as pictures.

Laid paper

Handmade on a mould of close-set wires, which leave fine parallel lines you can see when the sheet is held to the light.