Staande koe naar links c. 1657 - 1761

This print, "Standing Cow Facing Left", was made by Marcus de Bye in the 17th century using etching techniques. The image has a decidedly handmade quality; the lines feel close and descriptive. The clustered marks that describe the cow’s body and the landscape beyond are achieved by drawing through a wax ground on a metal plate, which is then bitten by acid. We can think about the image’s materiality in terms of labor. Prints like this were relatively inexpensive, and widely disseminated. Images of rural life served a ready market in Dutch cities, for people who were increasingly detached from agriculture. The etching’s relatively direct process, compared to say, painting, gives us an immediate and unvarnished picture of the Dutch countryside. It's a useful reminder that even an apparently simple image bears the trace of social and economic forces.