Herder bij een schaapskooi c. 1780 - 1840

Carel Lodewijk Hansen made this print of a shepherd by a sheepfold using etching, a printmaking technique, sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. The etched lines create a sense of light and shadow, defining the forms of the rural scene. Note how the thatched roof of the sheepfold seems almost like a rough sculpture, a contrast to the precision of the etching. The process involves covering a metal plate with a waxy, acid-resistant substance, then drawing an image into the wax with a sharp needle. The plate is then immersed in acid, which bites into the metal where the wax has been removed, creating incised lines that hold ink. Hansen likely drew inspiration from the Dutch countryside and its agricultural traditions, engaging with a long history of landscape and genre painting. By focusing on the lives of ordinary people and their connection to the land, artists like Hansen elevated the everyday into a subject worthy of artistic attention. The print provides insight into the social and economic realities of the time, when labor was intimately tied to the land. It reminds us that even seemingly simple images can carry profound cultural significance.