Herfst: vier naakte kinderen met gevangen vis 1671

Matthias Scheits made this small print, "Autumn: Four Naked Children with Captured Fish," using etching, a process that democratized image-making. To create this print, Scheits would have coated a metal plate with wax, drawn through it to expose the metal, then bathed the plate in acid, which bites into the exposed lines. The plate is then inked and printed, transferring the image to paper. The fineness of the lines reveals the artist's skilled hand and control over the etching process. Prints like these facilitated the spread of knowledge, art, and ideas to a wider audience, moving art production away from unique, handmade artworks, towards something reproducible and more akin to industrial manufacturing. By focusing on the technical and material dimensions of printmaking, we appreciate how this artwork is tied to broader social and economic changes, challenging the traditional separation of art and craft.