Waterende soldaat met paard 1802

Joannes Bemme made this print, "Watering Soldier with Horse," using etching, a printmaking technique dependent on acid to bite lines into a metal plate. The character of those lines gives this image its overall tone. Bemme would have coated his plate with a waxy, acid-resistant "ground," then used a sharp needle to expose the metal. Immersed in acid, the design would gradually appear. Here, Bemme used hatching, cross-hatching, and stippling, all built up from individual marks, to model the forms of the figures and landscape. Consider the amount of labor it would take to render a scene in such painstaking detail. This speaks to the status of printmaking at this time, as a medium of exact reproduction, able to distribute images widely and relatively cheaply. While not as prized as unique paintings, prints were valued for their ability to disseminate information and artistic ideas. This etching gives us a glimpse into the life and times of this soldier in the Netherlands. We can appreciate the skill and effort involved in bringing this story to life.