Drogende vissersnetten voor een huis 1849

Laurent François Guerdet created this etching, "Drying Fishing Nets by a House," using metal plate and acid. The incised lines, holding the ink, give us the image. You can see the blurry, textured quality that comes from this process, a far cry from the smooth finish of a photograph. Think about the labor involved: the artist first had to create the composition, then painstakingly transfer it to the metal. He then submerged the plate into acid, allowing the lines to be eaten away. The result is this atmospheric scene. What’s striking here is the way that Guerdet takes a working-class scene, fishing, and renders it using a method that was, and still is, considered a fine art. The fishing nets themselves, hanging heavy with water, speak to the labor of the fishermen and the humble reality of their lives. By engaging with these techniques, Guerdet elevates their world, while we are reminded that artmaking is itself a skilled form of labor.