En kone varmer sig 1740s

Michael Fosie made this print, "An Old Woman Warming Herself" sometime in the 18th century, using etching. Look closely and you'll see it's made up of thousands of tiny lines, bitten into a metal plate with acid. Etching allowed Fosie to create detailed scenes, like this intimate portrayal of an elderly woman with her cat. See how the cross-hatching defines the folds of her dress, and the wisps of smoke rising from the brazier. Printmaking like this was crucial to the circulation of images at the time. It was a way of mass-producing art, making it accessible to a wider audience beyond the wealthy elite. Think of it as the social media of its day. Etchings were relatively inexpensive to produce and buy, meaning that more people had access to imagery and information. So, while the subject of this etching is a humble one, the medium itself speaks to broader social shifts and the democratization of art. It reminds us that even seemingly simple images can tell complex stories about labor, access, and the changing landscape of art and society.