Man rookt pijp zittend op een krukje 1741 - 1820

This etching, "Man rookt pijp zittend op een krukje," was made by Abraham Delfos in the 18th century. It presents us with an intimate portrayal of a man enjoying a simple pleasure, smoking a pipe while seated on a stool. Delfos employed etching, a printmaking technique that relies on the corrosive properties of acid to create lines on a metal plate. The artist would have coated a copper plate with a waxy substance, drawn an image through it, and then submerged the plate in acid. The acid eats away at the exposed lines, creating grooves that hold ink. This artisan process allowed Delfos to imbue the image with detail, capturing the man’s posture, clothing, and even the smoke curling from the pipe. The print offers a glimpse into the social context of 18th-century life, where tobacco was becoming increasingly accessible. More than that, it shows us a moment of everyday life, immortalized through the skilled hand and material process of printmaking. It connects the world of art to the pleasures and realities of daily life.