Jan Poortenaar met etsplaat en tampon c. 1930 - 1950

This black and white photograph captures Jan Poortenaar with etsplaat en tampon, though we don't know when it was made or who took it. It's a study in the art of printmaking, focusing on the tools and process as much as the person. The tampon, a padded instrument for applying ink, looms large, its texture and heft suggesting the physical labor involved. Next to it, the etsplaat, or etching plate, is small, precise, and full of potential, ready to receive an image. The tones in this image are all about the contrast between light and dark, between the soft, yielding tampon and the hard, unyielding plate. The composition of the image allows us to consider these different tools and their significance in the printmaking process. It reminds me of the studio photographs of Eugène Delacroix, where the artist's tools become characters in their own right, and the whole scene captures a moment of creative activity. It’s a scene full of possibility, inviting us to imagine the countless prints that could emerge from that single plate.