Soldaten bij twee karren 1632 - 1668

This print, "Soldiers by Two Carts," was made by Robert van den Hoecke sometime in the mid-17th century. It is an etching, meaning that the image was incised into a metal plate, likely copper. The plate would have been covered in wax, the design scratched through, and then the whole thing dipped in acid to bite away the exposed metal. You can see a real virtuosity in van den Hoecke's mark-making. With a minimum of lines, he evokes a whole world. This wasn't just artistic flourish, though; the printmaking process was part of a larger economic system. Etchings like this were relatively easy to produce and distribute, making images accessible to a wide audience. It’s no accident that the subject is military life; the Dutch Republic was deeply involved in war at this time, and prints like this one served to document and, perhaps, to glorify that reality. By understanding how this print was made, we can better appreciate its role in the society that produced it.