Na de brand aan de Visbrug te Leiden, 1766 1766

Noach van der Meer the Younger made this print in 1766, showing the aftermath of a fire at the Visbrug in Leiden. It’s an etching, meaning that the artist would have coated a metal plate with wax, scratched an image into it, and then bathed the plate in acid. The acid bites away the exposed metal, leaving recessed lines that hold ink. Think about that process for a moment, and the skill it requires. It’s a means of production, of course, allowing an image to be reproduced many times over. Here, that capacity serves a documentary function, recording an event for posterity. But the scene also makes you consider the labor involved in the portrayed destruction: the builders who made the buildings now reduced to rubble, and the townsfolk who must now clear the site. The print doesn’t just show us a disaster, but prompts reflection on the social order that underpins the built environment. It’s a reminder that all images are made by someone, for someone, and about something bigger than themselves.