Art engraving

Since ancient times, engravings - drawings in relief or hollowed out - have played an essential role in representing the world, from the mysterious cosmos to everyday life. Their use dates back to prehistory and antiquity, when they were employed to capture the complexity of human existence. So ancient is their practice that they can be found in biblical texts and poems as early as the 8th century BC. Then considered artistic works in their own right, engravings evolved in the Middle Ages to become a widely-used printing technique, enabling the mass reproduction of numerous works.