Twee scènes uit Sebaldus Nothanker 1736 - 1801

This print was made by Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki in the late 18th century, using etching, a printmaking technique that involves biting lines into a metal plate with acid. The material character of the print—its linear precision and fine gradations of tone—results directly from this process. Chodowiecki would have painstakingly drawn through a protective ground, exposing the metal to the acid bath. The depth of the lines, and therefore the darkness of the printed image, was controlled by the amount of time the plate spent submerged. Etching was a commercial medium, used for book illustrations, portraits, and satirical prints. The labor involved was considerable, but printmaking allowed for relatively inexpensive reproduction and wide distribution of imagery, playing a key role in the development of public opinion and consumer culture. The narrative scenes depicted here are from a novel, suggesting the rise of literacy and a market for accessible art. Consider how the material and processes of printmaking democratized art in the 18th century, challenging traditional hierarchies of artistic value.