Riviergezicht met schuiten 1767 - 1780

This etching, titled "River View with Barges," was made by Bernhard Schreuder sometime before his death in 1780. The image is built up from tiny hatched lines, bitten into a copper plate with acid, then inked and printed. Etching was at that time a relatively new medium, though it had quickly become a favorite among artists for its comparative ease. It was an indirect printmaking method; the artist didn't have to laboriously cut away at the plate with chisels or gouges, as in engraving or woodcut. Instead, they could draw freely with a fine needle, relying on chemistry to do the hard work. Here, Schreuder uses the linear quality of etching to great effect. By varying the density of the lines, he creates a sense of light and shadow, volume and depth. The scene depicts working boats being loaded and unloaded; the work of etching, too, was a kind of labor. Paying attention to material processes like this allows us to expand our understanding of this image, and the world it represents.