Vrouw voor een vissershuis met uitgespannen netten 1744 - 1781

This print, by Jean-Baptist Leprince, shows a woman walking in front of a fisherman's house, with nets drying. It's made using etching, a printmaking process that relies on acid to ‘bite’ lines into a metal plate. To make this image, Leprince would have coated a copper plate with a waxy, acid-resistant substance, then drawn through it with a sharp needle to expose the metal. The plate was then immersed in acid, which etched the exposed lines, giving them a slightly rough, three-dimensional quality. This is especially visible in the darker areas around the buildings. The resulting plate was then inked and printed onto paper, transferring the image. The final result is a mirror image of the original design. This print gives us a glimpse into the lives of working people. The printmaking process itself, which is a skilled craft, elevates it to the realm of art. So, considering materials, making, and context allows us to see the full meaning of the artwork, and how it challenges traditional boundaries between fine art and craft.