Flodlandskab med kvinde og mand 1750 - 1795

Jeanne Françoise Ozanne created this Flood Landscape in the 18th century using etching, a printmaking technique dependent on a division of labor. First, a metal plate, likely copper, would have been coated with a waxy ground. The artist then scratched an image into this ground with a needle. Immersing the plate in acid would bite away the exposed lines, leaving an incised design. Ink would then be applied, filling these lines, and the plate pressed onto paper. Ozanne’s skill lies in her deft manipulation of line and tone, creating a delicate, almost dreamlike scene. Yet the process of etching also reveals a broader economic context. The copper, the acid, the paper, the printing press - all of these are elements in a complex network of production and consumption, reliant on various skilled trades, each with its own traditions. Etching thus reminds us that even the most seemingly individual artistic expression is deeply embedded in a social world. It requires a whole workshop ecosystem.