Twee zittende dames

This print of two seated ladies was made by Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki, a Polish-German artist, using etching. It’s a process involving the use of acid to cut into a metal plate, which is then inked and printed, allowing for the creation of multiple copies. What is particularly interesting here is the relationship between reproduction and the depiction of handcraft. One of the women is shown carefully sewing, an activity that requires patience and skill. The other seems to be mending lace. The image is meticulously worked. But the mechanical reproduction of etching enabled a wide distribution of images, a kind of proto-industrialization. The original drawing had to be translated through a complex chemical and mechanical process, to allow for the creation of many identical copies. This is quite a contrast with the textile crafts, each with its own unique variations, held by the women depicted. This work shows how the intimacy of touch and the remove of mechanized production existed side-by-side.