Stal met vee en hooiwagen 1762 - 1829

Jean Louis Demarne made this print, "Stal met vee en hooiwagen," using etching, a process that involves drawing with a needle on a coated metal plate, then using acid to bite into the exposed lines, which are then inked and printed. Look closely, and you can see how the etched lines define every detail, from the rough-hewn timbers of the barn to the texture of the animals’ coats. The quality of the line suggests a directness and immediacy. Demarne wasn’t interested in illusionism here; instead, the print revels in the frank character of labor, the day-to-day activities of a rural economy. The print medium itself is important. It allowed images to be reproduced and distributed widely, connecting city dwellers to idealized visions of country life, even as economic forces pulled more and more people away from the land and into urban workshops. The relatively low cost of printmaking also made art more accessible, blurring traditional boundaries between high art and popular culture.