Courtyard, Camp de Mar, Mallorca 

Tomás Joseph Harris made this etching of a courtyard scene in Camp de Mar, Mallorca, using a metal plate and acid. The image feels immediate, like a sketch, because of the directness of the etched line. Harris would have coated a metal plate with a waxy ground, then scratched his composition into that surface. When the plate was submerged in acid, the exposed metal would have been eaten away, creating incised lines. Ink would then be rubbed into these lines, and the image transferred to paper under high pressure in a printing press. It’s fascinating to consider this elaborate, indirect process when looking at the image. The courtyard, although bathed in sunlight, is enclosed by a high wall and buildings. The density of the etched marks gives a sense of contained energy, as though Harris was compelled to capture this particular view. Paying attention to such details of process, materiality and social context helps us to understand the full meaning of a work of art. It challenges traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.