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In 1675 the prolific etcher and engraver Romeyn de Hooghe designed, produced, and published a print depicting several disasters that had scourged the Republic of the Seven United Provinces from 1672 onwards. The print offers interesting insights in contemporary concerns that accumulated during All Saints Flood in 1675. In recent historical studies, the print has been used to illustrate contemporary belief in divine providence, and faith of the Dutch that history would take a turn for the better. But the iconography of the print is detailed and complex, and many of its vital elements have been ignored or were misinterpreted. Careful examination from an art historical perspective reveals that the print does not illustrate faith in a good outcome. On the contrary, De Hooghe accuses his fellow countrymen of a lack of faith using the New Testament story of a storm on the Sea of Galilee as a biblical parallel. Secondly, De Hooghe identifies discord as the cause of the current sad state of the Dutch Republic. He even implies that those responsible are the wealthy citizens in the prosperous Province of Holland who have neglected to take care of the republic's poorer members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1682, the Dutch artist Jan Luyken (1649–1712) made a novel set of copper engravings to illustrate the book Lapland (1682). The book was a Dutch translation of Lapponia (1673), the first scientific monograph about Sámi culture and written by the Swedish-German scholar Johannes Schefferus at the University of Uppsala in Sweden. Its original illustrations were woodcuts based on drawings by the author. According to the commission from the Swedish authorities, the book should enlighten Europeans about Sámi culture by using unbiased information, and thus refute misunderstandings that had occurred among many Europeans labouring under the false belief that Swedish military success was due to Sámi witchcraft. The illustrations in Lapland differ from those in Lapponia in several ways, for instance regarding composition, number of figures and choice of subject matter. Two illustrations of indigenous Sámi religion in Lapland are focused on, and the discussion relates them to the accompanying text and to illustrations in Lapponia. The questions asked are to what extent the illustrations play a part in the construction of meaning in Lapland; to what extent do they contribute to othering processes; and what role do the background figures in the illustrations have, i.e., do they have important functions or are they purely decorative? The discussions reveal that the illustrations play a part in the construction of meaning in several ways, for instance by playing a role in the negotiation of meaning in a semantic space between word and image. They contribute to othering processes by implicit references to ideas of witchcraft and by displaying differences in gesture between Sámi and Europeans. The background figures are more than purely decorative because they play a role in the narrative of the illustrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the number of impressions that could be made from one engraving or etching in Italy and Netherlands. However, there is a problem in identifying the correct number of engravings because of the lack of evidence. It is evident that the engraving entitled "Annales ecclesiastici," by Caesar Baronius has been reworked several times due to the numerous volumes it illustrates. These archival records and visual data provides a unique opportunity to track the stages of wear as well as the revitalization and reconception of the image through the reworking of the plate up to its final appearance. There are 18, 257 impressions taken from one plate in a period of 57 years which contradicts the stated 1, 000 impressions for a single plate.

Evaluates the art criticism by Carl Einstein of the seventeenth-century landscape engravings of Dutch artist Hercules Seghers. Details of how Einstein described the landscape engravings; Symbolism of Segher's work according to Einstein; Approach of Einstein in his criticism; Purpose of Einstein in criticizing Segher's work.

The article focuses on the Dutch painting "La Partie de Piquet de deux Invalides, Vue prise aux Invalides," by Pierre Duval-Lecamus. La Partie de Piquet was one of the first of a long series of Salon paintings, widely circulated as engravings and lithographs. The references in the painting is taken from the contemporary life in general and the military life in particular. It is stated that the painting reveals about the cross-pollination of art, politics and patronage.