Vioolspeler en een jonge lierdraaier 1654 - 1745

This print, "Vioolspeler en een jonge lierdraaier," was made by an anonymous artist using etching, a process in which acid is used to cut into a metal plate. The design is then printed onto paper. The technique allows for incredibly fine detail, and here, it's used to depict a social scene. The artist would have painstakingly covered the plate with a waxy, acid-resistant ground before drawing the composition. It is possible that the artist did everything themselves, including the printing, or it may be that they worked with a print shop that specialized in this kind of work. Note the depiction of everyday life here: street musicians entertaining a crowd outside a tavern, while others are working and drinking. The print medium itself, and the way it captures these working-class figures, blurs any neat distinction between 'high' and 'low' art.