Maskerade van de Leidse studenten, 1865 (plaat 9) 1865

This is a print made in 1865 by Jan Daniël Cornelis Carel Willem baron de Constant Rebecque, depicting the masquerade of students from Leiden. Look closely, and you’ll see the distinctive quality of line that comes from etching. The artist would have used a sharp needle to draw through a wax ground, exposing the metal plate beneath, which was then bitten by acid. Notice, too, the careful application of color. These watercolor washes soften the hard lines of the print, and add a sense of pageantry to the scene. But this combination of etched line and hand-applied color has significance beyond its aesthetic appeal. It speaks to a moment in the history of reproduction, before mechanical color printing became widespread. Each of these prints would have been individually colored, a labor-intensive process, and a reminder that even in the age of mass production, handcraft continued to play a vital role.