Landschap met rivier en stadje c. 17th century

This landscape with river and town was created by an anonymous artist using etching, a printmaking technique that democratized image production. The artist would have coated a metal plate with a waxy ground, scratched an image into it, and then bathed the plate in acid. The acid bites into the exposed lines, allowing them to hold ink. The atmospheric perspective of the landscape is built up through careful cross-hatching. Look closely, and you can see the labor involved. Etching allowed for a relatively quick way to produce images for a growing market. Prints like this made art more accessible, but also changed the nature of artistic work, becoming more about reproduction and less about unique, handcrafted objects. This print is a reminder of how art and labor are always intertwined.