Landschap met bomen 1859

This is Landschap met bomen, or Landscape with Trees, by Remigius Adrianus Haanen, made using etching. The printmaking process involves coating a metal plate with a waxy, acid-resistant substance, through which the artist scratches an image. When the plate is immersed in acid, the exposed lines are eaten away, creating recessed lines. Ink is then applied to the plate, and paper is pressed onto it, resulting in a reversed image. The etched lines define the trees' intricate foliage, capturing light and shadow. The sky is rendered using very fine horizontal hatching and cross-hatching, to create a tonal range and atmospheric perspective. The production of prints like this was deeply implicated in the rise of the art market, and with it, a democratization of images. An etching can be made many times over, and so this work is interesting as an artwork created through a reproducible process. So we can appreciate how a work like this, connects the hand of the artist, to the burgeoning industries of the 19th century.