Staande vrouw met rijzweep 1832 - 1902

Karel Frederik Bombled made this etching of a standing woman with a riding crop, but we don't know exactly when. Looking closely, you can see the intricate network of lines that bring the figure to life. This is achieved through etching – a printmaking process where lines are incised into a metal plate using acid. The plate is then inked, and the ink held in these etched lines is transferred to paper under high pressure. What's interesting here is the effect that this process has on the image. The woman and the landscape melt together. This choice emphasizes the sitter's connection to the outdoors, to the earth itself. Though this seems like a simple scene, it represents a huge amount of labor, from the mining and processing of the metal plate, to the skilled work of etching. The finished print, ultimately, is a physical record of all this human effort. Seeing the work this way, it reminds us that even seemingly simple images have a complex story to tell.