Lodewijk XI en zijn dochter Anna van Beaujeu spelen schaak 1866

This print was made by Adrien Joseph Verhoeven-Ball in the 19th century. It is a detailed etching of Lodewijk XI playing chess with his daughter. The image is made entirely through the controlled corrosion of metal. A plate would have been coated with wax, and the design carefully scratched into that surface. Then, acid would have been applied, biting away at the exposed metal. The depth of the line is determined by the length of time the acid is left to work, and the strength of the mordant. As you can see, Verhoeven-Ball was a master of this complex process, which demands painstaking labor and meticulous craftsmanship. The image has a delicacy that belies the brutal chemical process that birthed it. This etching speaks to a wider history of creative practices, reminding us that printmaking is a skilled tradition in its own right, as significant as any other artform. Hopefully, seeing the labor and skill involved in the making of this artwork gives you a deeper appreciation for its meaning, challenging any distinctions between fine art and craft.