Oude man leert een klein meisje lezen 1845

This print, made by Nicolas Toussaint Charlet, depicts an old man teaching a young girl how to read. It was made using lithography, a process where an image is drawn on a stone or metal plate with a greasy substance, then printed. The lithographic process is fascinating. It allows for very subtle tonal variations, which you can see in the delicate shading of the figures' faces and clothing. The artist has used this technique to create a sense of intimacy and warmth in the scene. The soft, almost blurry quality of the print adds to this effect, making it feel like a tender moment captured in time. Lithography was a relatively new technology in Charlet's time, and it democratized image-making. It made art more accessible to a wider audience because prints could be produced quickly and in large numbers. This is significant because it speaks to the changing social landscape, where education and knowledge were becoming increasingly valued. This print, with its emphasis on learning, reflects those values.