Vignet met de personificatie van Ondeugd 1723 - 1767

Jacob Folkema created this print, "Vignet met de personificatie van Ondeugd" - or "Vignette with the personification of Vice" - sometime before his death in 1767, using the technique of etching. Etching, like engraving, is an indirect form of printmaking. The artist covers a metal plate with a waxy, acid-resistant ground, then draws through it with a stylus. When the plate is bathed in acid, the exposed lines are bitten, leaving an impression that will hold ink. In this case, the result is a crisp, highly detailed image. Notice the way Folkema uses line to create a sense of depth and shadow, giving volume to the allegorical figures of Vice. And consider the labor involved – all those tiny, precise marks incised by hand. Prints like this were relatively inexpensive, designed to be consumed and circulated widely. They remind us that art doesn't have to be a unique, precious object to be meaningful. The act of making, and the social context in which that labor occurs, are just as important.