Gezicht op de tuin van mijnheer Renard 1658

Israel Silvestre made this print of Monsieur Renard’s garden using the technique of etching. This is a printmaking process that relies on the corrosive action of acid to make marks on a metal plate. Silvestre would have first coated the copperplate with a waxy, acid-resistant substance, before using a sharp needle to draw through it, exposing the metal below. Then, he would have submerged the plate in acid, which bit into the exposed lines. By carefully controlling the depth of these lines, he could achieve a wide range of tones. What's fascinating here is how etching, a method of production, is itself the subject of the image. This garden wasn't just an aesthetic creation, but a signifier of status, constructed with labor. Silvestre’s print, made through a different kind of labor, then circulates this image of power. The garden and the etching are both products of their time, reflecting the social hierarchies of 17th-century France. So, considering the materials and processes really deepens our understanding of this artwork.