Engravings sit somewhere in the middle between documentary and representational art. For Vasco Cunillera, it’s his family legacy and he’s now sharing this art form with us
Engraving was a graphic art form popularly used as a visual means of spreading knowledge of the world long before photography came into being at the beginning of the 19th century. With the advent of photography, many engravings passed into the realms of valuable pieces of art and, depending on their rarity and age, also became an object of desire for collectors.
‘Behind every engraving, there are two stories. The illustration itself and what it depicts, when it was made, its authenticity and uniqueness, the signature, how well preserved it is… And then there’s the story of all the adventures it’s been through before ending up in your hands. Both aspects are really exciting,’ explains Vasco Cunillera, who now manages his family legacy of antique engravings.
At his online shop, you can find engravings covering different periods, themes, styles and price tags. He also has lithographs and reproductions of other engravings covering everything, from historic naval battles to cathedral floor plans, representations of classical orders, nautical maps or ancient representations of the celestial plane and constellations.
Boasting more than five thousand engravings, Cunillera’s virtual gallery is unique in the Canary Islands. grabadosantiguoslanzarote.com invites you to immerse yourself in yesteryear like an ancient explorer or peruse the art as you would in a museum. As you browse through the engravings one by one, you’ll discover varied concepts and unsuspected perspectives. The site’s search engine helps you find exactly what you’re looking for and narrows down the results to those that most closely match your search in terms of subject, age, and style. Alternatively, the website allows you to sort by price. What’s more, as the collection is located in Lanzarote, you can book an appointment with Cunillera, and he’ll personally show you the engravings you are interested in.
In addition to the engravings’ documentary, historical and artistic value, they are beautiful works of art. When properly framed, they make distinctive and elegant wall art, ideal for rural houses, hotels, offices, waiting rooms and other public and private spaces.
