Watervogels bij een poel 1580 - 1625

Jan van Londerseel created this etching of Waterbirds by a Pool sometime around the turn of the 17th century. It is a relatively small work, rendered entirely through the precise and laborious process of carving lines into a metal plate, which is then inked and printed. The striking clarity of the natural forms is entirely dependent on Londerseel’s mastery of the etching needle. Look closely, and you can appreciate the variety of marks he used to evoke the birds' plumage, the rippling water, and the surrounding foliage. The effect is not just visual, but almost tactile. You can practically feel the soft feathers and the cool water. It's worth remembering that prints like this one were luxury goods, yet the etching process also enabled a democratization of images and the rise of a print market. Ultimately, this artwork reminds us that even seemingly simple images are the result of complex interactions between hand, tool, and material, and deeply imbricated in social and economic contexts.