Paard op landweg met waterende man 1752 - 1783

Hendrik Godart de Marée created this print, Paard op landweg met waterende man, using etching, a printmaking technique that dates back to the Middle Ages. The etcher covers a metal plate with a waxy ground, then scratches an image into that surface. Acid eats away the exposed metal, leaving behind an impression that can be inked and printed. Look closely, and you’ll see the fine lines created by this process. De Marée would have needed skill and a light hand to create this tranquil scene of everyday life. Printmaking was very much a commercial enterprise during this period, meeting the growing demand for inexpensive images. Here, the etched lines create not just the forms of the figures and landscape, but a social portrait, recording a moment in the lives of ordinary people and animals. In considering the work of Hendrik Godart de Marée, we are encouraged to acknowledge the labor involved in its production, challenging our ideas of 'high' and 'low' art, and inviting us to consider the rich histories embedded within the material world.