Melkmeisje brengt een kan bij een dame before 1909

This small etching titled 'Melkmeisje brengt een kan bij een dame' was made by W.F. Barber, using fine lines to create the impression of light. Look at how Barber used etching to map out the interior space. Can you see the quiet scene coming into focus? The maid stands still, while a woman sits. I can imagine Barber, bent over the etching plate, carefully moving the needle to build up shadow and form. The whole thing has this hushed, intimate quality. The artist could be trying to capture a fleeting moment of everyday life, or a staged tableau. Maybe he sees echoes of seventeenth-century Dutch masters in this scene? Either way, I appreciate the careful labor involved in making the image appear on the page. Etching, like painting, is a form of embodied expression. The artist's hand is present in every line, every mark. And in turn, we the viewers are left to wonder about what that line means.