Beggar with Crutch 1897

Camille Pissarro made this print, "Beggar with Crutch," using the etching process. It’s an intaglio technique, meaning the image is incised into a metal plate, likely copper, with a sharp needle. The whole plate is then inked, and the surface wiped clean, leaving ink only in the etched lines. The metal plate is essential to the overall look. The fineness of the lines, and the way they catch the light, is entirely due to the metal. Pressing the paper against the plate requires tremendous force. The lines of the print give the impression of poverty, with short, scratchy strokes. The artist had a clear social agenda; to ennoble the everyday worker. Here, he has chosen to depict the most vulnerable: a man who can only survive through the charity of others. By embracing printmaking, Pissarro put himself in closer alignment with the working class, challenging the traditional hierarchy of art.