Hoofd van een oude vrouw met muts en een boek in haar hand 1862 - 1908

Piet Verhaert made this etching, Head of an Old Woman with Bonnet and a Book in her Hand, using metal, acid, and ink. Look closely, and you can see the dense network of fine lines that give the image its form and texture. The etching process would have begun with a metal plate, likely copper or zinc, coated with a waxy, acid-resistant ground. Verhaert would then have used a sharp needle to draw through the ground, exposing the metal beneath. Immersing the plate in acid would bite into the exposed lines, creating grooves. The plate is then inked, and wiped clean, leaving ink only in the etched lines. Finally, it's pressed onto paper, transferring the image. The result has a unique graphic quality: a subtle interplay of light and shadow achieved through the density and direction of the lines. It’s this quality, a direct result of the etching process itself, that gives the portrait its striking immediacy. This intimate portrayal of working class life reminds us that printmaking is not just a reproductive technique, but a creative medium in its own right.