Vrouw en kinderen op stoep spelend met puppy's 1864 - 1866

This print was made by Alexander Ver Huell, and it presents a woman and children playing with puppies. The print was made through etching, a process where lines are incised into a metal plate with acid, then filled with ink and pressed onto paper. The artist has focused attention on the contrast between the crisp details of the foreground figures and the crumbling facade of the building behind, rendered in the same linear style. The etched line has an inherent austerity, and the image gives a sense of everyday life and a kind of candid naturalism. The medium of the print is significant. It's easily reproducible and a relatively affordable process. This brings the scenes of everyday life depicted to a wider audience, beyond the elite circles typically associated with art patronage, and offers a glimpse into the lives of ordinary people.