Landschap met boerderij met hooiberg 1862 - 1914

Alphonse Stengelin made this small etching of a farmhouse and haystack, using the printmaking process to connect art with the everyday. The image is created by incising lines into a metal plate, inking it, and pressing it onto paper. Each print is thus an original, a quality that set printmaking apart in the 19th century, as photography emerged as a repeatable medium. Consider the effect Stengelin creates: a textured surface, built up through many tiny marks. This wasn't just a way to depict the scene realistically. The sheer labor involved, the meticulous work of engraving, gives the image its special aura. Stengelin here elevates an ordinary subject—a modest farm building—through extraordinary dedication and a time-honored craft. By understanding the work that goes into it, we can appreciate the image’s subtle beauty. It's a reminder that even the most humble materials and subjects can be transformed through skillful making.