Madonna met kind onder een palmboom 1768

This is Richard Earlom's "Madonna and Child under a Palm Tree", an etching made in the late 1700s. The image has been wrought with a technique called mezzotint. To achieve this velvety effect, the entire copper plate is roughened with a tool called a rocker, creating a dense field of burrs that would print as solid black. The artist then works back into this surface, burnishing and scraping away the burrs to create lighter tones. Think of it – Earlom is not just drawing lines, but sculpting light itself from a field of darkness! This labor-intensive process allowed for subtle gradations and tonal richness, perfectly capturing the softness of the figures and the lushness of the landscape. Looking at this print, we can appreciate not only Earlom's skill, but also the tradition of printmaking, and its reliance on craft to achieve its effects. It reminds us that even in reproductive media, there is always a hand at work.