Letter S

Art Historical Context

**Letter S** *Peter Aubry, 1630* Engraving on paper, 24 × 17.6 cm Art Institute of Chicago, Prints and Drawings Department Step into the intricate world of 17th printmaking with Peter Aubry's *Letter S*, a delicate engraving from 1630. Created during the Baroque era, this small-scale work (just under 10 by 7 inches) exemplifies the precision of engraving, a technique where an artist incises fine lines into a metal plate with a burin, inks it, and presses it onto paper. This intaglio method allowed for exceptional detail and tonal depth, making engravings highly prized for their reproducibility and affordability compared to paintings. Aubry, a skilled French engraver active in the early 1600s, crafted this piece likely as part of decorative alphabets popular in Europe at the time. Ornamental letters like this "S" were essential in book design, architecture, and calligraphy, bridging Renaissance manuscript traditions with the rise of printed media. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings collection, it highlights how engravings democratized elaborate designs, influencing everything from title pages to monumental decorations. Fun fact: At this compact size, *Letter S* could fit neatly into a collector's album, preserving Aubry's mastery for generations. A testament to the era's fusion of art and craft, it invites you to appreciate the engraver's steady hand and the enduring allure of the printed line.