Buste van een lezende boer 1757

Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki made this small engraving of a reading farmer sometime in the 18th century. It’s made with a burin, a hardened steel tool used to incise lines into a metal plate, which is then inked and printed. The fineness of the lines and the intricacy of the details, like the crinkles around the farmer’s eyes and the texture of his hat, are testament to Chodowiecki’s skill. Notice how the lines vary in thickness and density to create shading and volume. This was an intaglio process, labor intensive, yet capable of producing multiple impressions. Consider the social implications. Printmaking allowed for the dissemination of images and ideas to a wider audience. In this case, it depicts a member of the working class engaged in an intellectual pursuit. The artwork challenges the traditional hierarchy between fine art and craft. The meticulous process and the social context add layers of meaning, inviting us to reflect on the relationship between labor, knowledge, and representation.