Smid met blaasbalg 1848

Charles Jacque created this etching, "Smith with bellows," using a dense network of fine lines to construct a composition filled with contrasting values. Notice how the artist used the etching technique to build up areas of shadow and light, creating a dramatic and textured surface. The lines create a palpable sense of depth and density. Jacque's use of line is particularly striking. The cross-hatching not only defines the forms of the figures and the bellows but also contributes to the overall atmosphere of labor and industry. The composition is carefully structured to lead the eye from the foreground figures to the suggestion of interior space, yet the network of lines almost obscures the human form. The intensity of line work here serves as a metaphor for the industriousness and materiality of labour itself, inviting us to contemplate the formal dynamics that underpin the work’s symbolic content.