De ses Nederlandse bataviers / zijnde yder op het beste / na hare moode / opgepronckt 1738 - 1767

This is a print by Gijsbert de Groot Keur, made using a technique called etching, with some hand-applied color. Etching involves coating a metal plate with wax, scratching an image into the wax, and then bathing the plate in acid, which bites into the exposed metal. The incised lines hold ink, and when printed, they create a precise and repeatable image. This was an ideal technique for disseminating images widely. Here, the artist has depicted six Dutch Batavians, each ‘decked out in the best, according to their mood’. Consider the labor involved. The etcher needed skill to manipulate the tools, understanding how the acid would affect the metal. Then, the prints would have been pulled, perhaps by an apprentice. Finally, someone would carefully apply the color by hand. Prints like this one were part of a growing market for images, catering to a public eager to consume representations of their world. This artwork shows how the detailed process reflects a society becoming increasingly aware of its own image and identity.