Brug over de Prinsengracht in Amsterdam c. 1894 - 1895

Pieter Dupont made this print of a bridge over the Prinsengracht in Amsterdam. It is an etching, a printmaking process that requires a metal plate, acid, and considerable skill. The plate would have been covered with a waxy, acid-resistant ground, on which Dupont would have drawn his design. The plate was then immersed in acid, which bit into the metal, creating recessed lines. Ink was then applied, and the plate wiped clean, leaving ink only in the etched lines. Finally, the image was transferred to paper under high pressure. The etching medium lends itself particularly well to atmospheric effects, and we can really see this here in the depiction of the wet streetscape. Dupont was likely part of a larger social world of printmakers, who made such images for an emerging market of collectors. His skilled labor gave pictorial form to everyday city life, creating an object of aesthetic interest, and enduring value.