Wandelend boerenpaar 17th century

This small print, "Wandering peasant couple," was made by an anonymous artist using the etching technique. The artist would have coated a metal plate with wax, drawn an image through it with a sharp needle, and then bathed the plate in acid, which bites into the exposed lines. Notice how this process lends itself to a particular kind of representation. There are no broad tonal effects here, just a constellation of thin strokes used to describe the figures and their clothing. Look closely and you can see the relative density of lines used to suggest shadow and form. This print belongs to a larger tradition of representing the peasant class. It offered city dwellers an idea of rural life, filtered through the technology of printmaking. The act of walking, in this context, can be seen as a form of labor, a connection to the land. The artist's hand, using the tools of etching, is thus implicated in this social dynamic, mediating between the viewer and the life depicted.