Berglandschap met figuren bij een steen en een man met twee ezels op een pad 1764

Jean Jacques de Boissieu made this landscape scene, ‘Berglandschap met figuren bij een steen en een man met twee ezels op een pad’, using etching, a printmaking technique. The drawing is incised into a metal plate with acid; the depth of line determining the amount of ink it will hold. Notice how the thin, precise etched lines give the impression of depth, drawing the eye into the mountainous background. De Boissieu masterfully uses the etched line to create texture and shadow, giving the rocky landscape and figures a tangible quality. The landscape shows working class figures: traders with mules and resting wanderers, as well as engineering works such as the dam that dominates the midground of the drawing. The printmaking process, itself involving skilled labor, allowed for the widespread distribution of such images. Consider how this connects to broader social issues of labor, class, and consumption in the 18th century, particularly the value placed on both artisanal skill and depictions of everyday life.