In het veen 1849 - 1895

Johannes Walter’s ‘In het veen’ is an etching printed on paper. The image has been created by carefully incising lines into a metal plate, likely copper or zinc. The plate would then have been inked, and the excess wiped away, leaving ink only in the etched lines. It would then have been pressed onto paper, transferring the image. The process demands considerable skill and time. This particular print is a landscape, and the etching technique perfectly suits the depiction of subtle tonal variations in the natural scene. Look closely, and you’ll see how the lines vary in thickness and density, creating a sense of depth and texture. In Walter’s time, prints were often made in multiples and sold relatively cheaply, making art more accessible to a wider audience, a reflection of the industrial revolution and its impact on art production and consumption. We should thus recognize the social context of laborious work in the making of this artwork, and the artist’s labor in representing the social context of laborious work in the landscape.