Kuiper aan het werk in zijn werkplaats 1883

Piet Verhaert’s 1883 etching shows a cooper diligently working in his shop. The image itself is made through a labor-intensive process: lines are incised into a metal plate, which is then inked and printed, leaving behind a delicate, textured image. The cooper's craft revolves around the manipulation of wood. It’s clear from the tools hanging around the workshop that shaping planks into watertight vessels requires precision and skill. The way the cooper is hunched over his work, carefully examining a stave, speaks volumes about the care and attention involved. Consider that before industrialization, almost everything was contained in wooden vessels made by these skilled workers. As such, the cooper was a vital part of the economic system. Looking at this image, we can appreciate not only the artistry involved but also the significance of craft labor in society.