Drie schapen en een ram voor een voederbak 1896

This is "Three Sheep and a Ram before a Feeding Trough," made by Frans Lebret. The artwork is an etching, which involves drawing an image into a prepared ground on a metal plate, then using acid to bite away the exposed lines. The nature of the etching process gives a distinctive look, and a tactile quality. Look closely, and you can almost feel the incised lines which have been filled with ink, and pressed onto the paper. Lebret’s image is characterized by its fine detail and delicate tonality. Note the patient hatching and cross-hatching, which define the forms of the sheep, describe their woolly textures, and capture the light and shadow within the barn interior. Etching was often chosen as a reproductive medium, and it speaks to the wider social context of craft and industry in the 19th century. Lebret’s artwork invites us to look closely at the process and materials, to fully appreciate its meaning, and to challenge traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.