Dorpsweg met een rustend paar before 1676

"Dorpsweg met een rustend paar" or Village Road with a Resting Couple, was made by Johannes or Lucas van Doetechum using etching. It’s a printmaking technique that relies on the power of acid to create lines in a metal plate. First, the plate is coated with a waxy, acid-resistant material. The artist then scratches an image into this coating, exposing the metal underneath. When the plate is dipped in acid, the exposed lines are eaten away, creating grooves. The depth of these grooves determines how much ink they will hold, and thus how dark they appear in the final print. To produce an image like this one would have required specialized knowledge of metallurgy, chemistry and printing. The resulting work is a marvel of craft. The scene evokes the slow pace of rural life, but the process to create it involved specialized knowledge, careful labor, and the meeting of art, science, and industry. The Van Doetechums ask us to think about the labor involved in all aspects of life, whether we're passing the time on the road, or producing the images that represent it.