Vioolspeler en een jonge lierdraaier 1654 - 1656

Adriaen van Ostade created this etching, titled "Vioolspeler en een jonge lierdraaier," using metal, acid and ink. Look closely, and you will see how the artist would have painstakingly covered a metal plate with a waxy, acid-resistant substance, and then scratched away lines to expose the metal underneath. The plate would then have been submerged in acid, "biting" the image into its surface. This is visible in the quality of the lines, and the different tones achieved through varied depths of etching. The image captures a moment of everyday life. Figures gather outside what seems to be a tavern, with music, drink, and camaraderie creating a scene of leisure. The artist's focus on the ordinary, together with the etching process itself – repeatable and relatively affordable – connects the artwork to a burgeoning middle class and growing consumerism. Here, artistic skill meets industrial reproduction, democratizing images and opening up art to a wider audience.