Liggende koe c. 1657 - 1677

This is Marcus de Bye’s etching, Liggende Koe, made sometime in the 17th century. The artwork presents a landscape dominated by a resting cow, rendered with an intricate network of etched lines. De Bye uses hatching and cross-hatching to model the animal's form, creating a sense of volume and texture. The composition, with its low horizon line, directs our focus to the cow, making it a monumental figure within its pastoral setting. The lines create a semiotic system. The density and direction of the lines suggest light and shadow. The stark contrast in tones accentuates the cow's form against the softer background, drawing our eye to the animal’s presence. This highlights an underlying visual structure where the natural world is both observed and constructed through the artist's careful articulation of line and form. The cow, therefore, becomes more than a representation of nature; it is a study in the language of etching.