En fiskende dreng 1850

This print by Adolph Kittendorff, entitled "En fiskende dreng" which translates to "A fishing boy", was made using etching, a printmaking process that reveals much about the labor involved in its creation. The image begins with a metal plate, likely copper or zinc. The etcher coats the plate with a waxy, acid-resistant ground, then scratches an image into the ground with a pointed needle. When dipped in acid, the exposed lines are eaten away, creating recessed lines in the metal. These grooves hold the ink, which is then transferred to paper under high pressure in a printing press. The dense cross-hatching evident throughout Kittendorff's print speaks to the time-consuming nature of etching. Each line had to be drawn and bitten individually. In terms of labor, prints like this allowed images to be widely disseminated, connecting to a burgeoning market for art outside the traditional realm of painting and sculpture. The relative ease and reproducibility meant that more people could see and own art.