Vrouw met kind geeft een bedelaar een aalmoes voor de ingang van een kerkhof 1885

Edmund Herger made this print, “Woman with child gives a beggar alms in front of a cemetery entrance,” using etching, a printmaking technique with a long history. In etching, an image is created by drawing into a coated metal plate, and then bathing the plate in acid. This incises lines into the metal, which are then filled with ink and printed onto paper. The resulting lines have a particular crisp character, due to the sharp bite of the acid. Here, that linear quality is used to great effect. The artist creates not just the figures, but also a whole social world, one vividly divided between the haves and have-nots. There’s a strong sense of place – you can almost feel the cold, damp air of the cemetery. Herger uses the etching process to deliver an image that is both socially conscious and emotionally resonant. The marks themselves become meaningful in the image.