1/5

About this artwork

plaatrand: hoogte 192 mm x breedte 133 mm

Art Historical Context

**Pieter Schenk (I): 1/5** This delicate print, titled *1/5*, comes from the workshop of Pieter Schenk (), a leading Dutch engraver and publisher active between 1670 and 1713. Born around 1660 in Amsterdam Schenk was a master of reproductive printmaking during the waning years of the Dutch Golden Age when intricate engravings on paper captured the era's fascination with detailed imagery, maps, and decorative series. As the first in a set of five plates—hinted by its numbering—this work exemplifies the commercial print culture booming in 17th-century Holland, where affordable paper prints brought art to middle-class homes. Measuring a modest 192 mm high by 133 mm wide, the piece bears a clear *plaatrand* (plate border), a telltale sign of copperplate engraving, Schenk's specialty. This technique allowed for fine lines and tonal depth, making complex scenes reproducible in large quantities. Schenk's firm produced everything from city views to allegorical vignettes, often after designs by contemporaries like Romeyn de Hooghe, blending technical precision with cultural flair. Though the exact subject remains elusive from surviving records, *1/5* invites us into the vibrant world of Baroque printmaking, where small-scale works held outsized influence, democratizing art and preserving fleeting moments of Dutch ingenuity for generations. A charming glimpse into 18th-century collecting! (198 words)