Portrait of Antonio Viole c. 20th century

This is Cadwallader Washburn’s "Portrait of Antonio Viole," an etching on paper. An etching begins with a metal plate, usually copper, coated with a waxy, acid-resistant ground. The artist then scratches an image into the ground with a needle, exposing the metal. When the plate is immersed in acid, the exposed lines are "bitten," creating grooves. The deeper the bite, the darker the line will be. Washburn would have then removed the ground, inked the plate, and wiped the surface clean, leaving ink only in the etched lines. Finally, he would have pressed the plate against paper, transferring the image. The resulting print bears the mark of this process – the crisp lines of the etching and the embossed texture of the paper. Washburn’s printmaking emphasizes the skilled labor involved in the creation of an image, as well as the dialogue between intention and accident inherent in the medium. Appreciating the work involved allows us to value the creative labor embedded in it, as well as its wider social and cultural significance.