Old Woman with Basket 1878

Gaston La Touche made this print, "Old Woman with Basket", using etching, a printmaking technique with a long history. To make an etching, an artist covers a metal plate with a waxy, acid-resistant ground, then draws an image into that ground with a sharp needle, exposing the metal beneath. Immersing the plate in acid then bites away at the exposed lines. The longer the plate sits in the acid, the deeper the lines become. Once the ground is removed, the plate is inked and wiped clean, leaving ink only in the etched lines, and run through a press with a sheet of paper to create the final print. The character of the etched line is crucial here. See how it varies in thickness and depth, creating a sense of volume and texture. This print gives us a sense of the artist's hand and labor, but is very different from a drawing or painting, which are unique. The printmaking process allows for the work to be reproduced and disseminated, speaking to modern ideas about the production and consumption of images. Understanding the labor and materiality of this work challenges traditional notions of the "fine" arts, and connects the work to broader social and economic contexts.