Peasant with a Crooked Back c. 1675

Adriaen van Ostade made this print of a stooped figure using etching, a printmaking technique involving acid and metal. The magic of etching lies in its lines. Ostade would have coated a metal plate with a waxy, acid-resistant ground, then drawn this composition with a sharp needle, exposing the metal beneath. When dipped in acid, the lines would have been bitten into the plate. The plate is then inked, and the surface wiped clean, leaving ink only in the etched lines. Finally, it's pressed onto paper, transferring the image. Here, the material process and the subject are inextricably linked: with the stark, etched lines mirroring the rough, etched life of the peasant, conveying not just a physical form, but a sense of hardship etched into his very being. It underscores how the means of production can infuse an artwork with profound social and cultural significance.