Staande vrouw bij wasemmer c. 1886

This is an aquatint by Willem Witsen, showing a woman standing next to a bucket. As a printmaking process, aquatint involves coating a metal plate with resin, then using acid to create tonal effects. The longer the plate is exposed to the acid, the darker the tone. The result is a surface with a granular texture, which you can see if you look closely. Because of its reliance on chemistry, aquatint was a thoroughly modern technique in its time, and Witsen was a master of it. The monochromatic quality here emphasizes the way that labor is so often rendered invisible. Witsen is not only representing a domestic worker, but also subtly alluding to the labor involved in the printmaking process itself. By drawing attention to the material reality of both the image and its subject, Witsen quietly challenges the traditional hierarchy between fine art and everyday life.