Boerenpaar 1841 - 1911

This artwork, 'Boerenpaar', by Léopold Flameng, is an etching on a copper plate. Etching is an indirect process. The metal is coated with a waxy ground, then the artist scratches an image through the ground, exposing the metal underneath. When acid is applied, it bites into the exposed lines, creating an image. The copper plate itself has a presence here. The printed lines are set into a rainbow-hued surface, which seems to float in front of us. This effect likely results from a chemical patination, transforming the very stuff of industrial production into something strangely ethereal. The image depicts a peasant couple, their faces etched with age and experience. Flameng's choice of medium invites us to contemplate the labor involved, not only that of the couple depicted, but also his own, and the many hands that extracted and processed the copper in the first place. In the end, the copper plate becomes a testament to how artistic vision can transform everyday materials into enduring images.