Portret van een oude man met baret 1810 - 1884

This is Johannes Mock's "Portrait of an Old Man with a Beret", an etching. Look closely and you'll see the image is made up of thousands of tiny lines incised into a metal plate. The etcher covers a metal plate with a waxy, acid-resistant ground. Using a needle, the artist scratches away the ground, revealing the metal beneath. The plate is then immersed in acid, which bites into the exposed lines. This process demands control and precision, combining artistic skill with technical expertise. The velvety blacks and subtle gradations of tone achieved through etching rival those of drawing, giving the portrait a tangible presence. The dense network of lines captures the textures of the man's beard and the folds of his beret, bringing the image to life. Etching was often used for reproducing existing artworks or creating multiple copies of original designs. The making of prints democratized art, making it more accessible to a wider audience beyond the wealthy elite. Mock's etching transforms the reproducible into something worthy of close attention, blurring the boundaries between fine art and craft.