Deux Gigolettes et Deux Gigolos 1898

Théophile Alexandre Steinlen created this print, ‘Deux Gigolettes et Deux Gigolos’, using the etching process. This intaglio technique involves biting into a metal plate using acid, the lines of which hold ink and transfer to paper when printed. Look closely, and you can see the web of fine lines that define the scene. Steinlen scratched these lines into the metal, building up tone and shadow through their density and direction. The scene depicts two young women and two young men on what appears to be a Parisian street. Steinlen was very interested in depictions of the urban working class, and you sense a certain world-weariness in this print. The etching process itself – laborious and indirect – may be seen to mirror the experience of these figures in the industrialized city. Ultimately, it is the skillful manipulation of material and process that gives the image its social resonance. The print is not just a picture, but a document of how labor is represented, and made visible through a demanding creative process.