Job 1926

Lodewijk Schelfhout created this print of Job, using etching and possibly other techniques such as aquatint. Consider the material properties of the metal plate from which the image was transferred. The artist would have applied a waxy ground, incised the design, and then bathed the plate in acid, allowing the exposed metal to be eaten away. This is painstaking work, demanding enormous concentration. The success of the print depends on the way the plate takes and holds ink, and the pressure applied in the printing press. The result is a network of finely wrought lines, capturing Job's gaunt figure and expressive pose. The very act of making the print embodies the biblical figure’s own qualities of patience, endurance, and quiet desperation. This is not just an image of suffering, but an index of difficult labor, transformed into art.