Vrouw met mand met vruchten in de hand bij het raam Possibly 1853

Johannes de Mare created this print, ‘Woman with a Basket of Fruit in Hand at the Window,’ using a method called lithography. The grainy texture comes from the lithographic stone itself, and the labor-intensive process of repeatedly applying ink to achieve such a tonal range. In the 19th century, lithography emerged as a key method for producing images, cheaper than engraving. It democratized image production, much as photography did later. Notice how the woman is framed – by the window, yes, but also by the trappings of a prosperous domestic interior. The basket of fruit, the flowers, and even the fowl hanging outside the window speak to the abundance of bourgeois life. This print, then, could be understood as both a product of expanding industrialization and a reflection of its social impact. It’s a portrait of a society as much as a person. It collapses distinctions between art and craft to bring in the world.