Visverkoop op het strand van Zandvoort c. 1880

Carel Nicolaas Storm van 's-Gravesande made this print of a fish sale on the beach at Zandvoort. It’s an etching, which means the artist would have used a sharp needle to draw through a waxy coating on a metal plate, exposing the bare metal underneath. The plate would then have been submerged in acid, which bites into the exposed lines, creating grooves. Covering the plate in ink, and then wiping it clean, leaves ink only in those recessed lines. The whole thing is then pressed onto paper in a printing press. Here, the artist has used the process to great effect, capturing the atmospheric quality of the beach, and the bustle of figures around the fishing boats. The linear quality of the etching lends itself well to the rigging of the ships, and the textures of the sand. This print gives us insight into the labor and industry of a Dutch seaside town. We can see the hard work of the fishermen, and the trade that sustained the community. It is a reminder that art is not just about aesthetics, but also about the lives and livelihoods of people.