En hvid hoppe og et liggende føl 1777 - 1831

Christian David Gebauer created this print of a white mare and foal using etching, sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. Etching is a printmaking technique that relies on the corrosive power of acid to create lines in a metal plate. The plate would first be coated with a waxy, acid-resistant substance called a ground. The artist then scratches through this ground with a needle to expose the metal beneath. When the plate is immersed in acid, the exposed metal is eaten away, creating incised lines that hold ink. The resulting print has a distinctive, linear quality, with a subtle texture created by the acid biting into the metal. The process involves a lot of labor, and also specialist knowledge – both of the materials, and the effects that can be achieved with them. It would have been one step in a longer chain of production. The paper, the ink, the press: all brought into being by many hands. Recognizing this reminds us that even a seemingly straightforward image like this one has its own kind of social complexity. It's a collaboration.