Brillenverkoper en een oude vrouw 1694 - 1766

This etching, "Brillenverkoper en een oude vrouw" (Glasses Seller and an Old Woman) by Matthijs Balen, created between 1694 and 1766, depicts a street scene. The composition features a man, presumably a glasses seller, standing outside a rustic home, offering a pair of glasses to an elderly woman who is standing in the doorway. A small child stands in the foreground holding a basket. The use of etching, a technique where acid is used to create lines on a metal plate, gives the image a textured and expressive quality, characteristic of 17th century Dutch art.