Jonge man en jonge vrouw op de weg bij een ruïne 1731 - 1788

This print, Young Man and Young Woman on the Road near a Ruin, was made by Johann Esaias Nilson in the 18th century using etching and possibly engraving. These are both printmaking techniques that rely on the controlled erosion of a metal plate, allowing for the reproduction of an image. Here, the fineness of the etched line lends the image a delicate, almost tentative quality. It also speaks to the level of skill required. The artist would have had to carefully apply a waxy "ground" to the plate, then scratch away the lines of the composition, exposing the metal underneath. The plate is then immersed in acid, which bites into the exposed lines, creating grooves that will hold ink. The printmaker then burnishes the plate and takes a print. Nilson was working in a period when printmaking was becoming increasingly important as a means of disseminating images and ideas. This print is not just an image, it is also an object that bears the traces of a very specific kind of labor, which is so crucial to the artistic process.