Pieter van der Aa

Pieter van der Aa turned 1700s city life into print: his H Beard Collection shows taverns, theaters, and street scenes with a sharp eye for detail. Working in an era when prints spread news and gossip, he carved copper plates that let ordinary people hang everyday scenes on their walls. His lines catch the tilt of a hat or the steam from a mug.

Tap his prints to zoom in on the crowd outside a 1707 playhouse or the shadowed corners of a back-alley bar.