Joseph I (August), Holy Roman Emperor
c. 1705
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image/plate: 13.2 × 9 cm (5 1/4 × 3 9/16 in.); Sheet: 15.2 × 11.5 cm (6 × 4 9/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
133232
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The technique of micrography, in which artists use microscopic script to realize abstract designs or figurative representations, traces its origins to Islamic and Judaic traditions of image-making with minute letter forms. In the early 18th century Germany artists such as Johann Michael Püchler and Matthias Buchinger also practiced the art form, creating ingenious images that required great dexterity from their creators and sustained scrutiny from their viewers. These two prints show how the art...