En pige, som malker en ged 1741

This is "En pige, som malker en ged" (A girl milking a goat), an etching made by Johanna Fosie. Here, the material itself – the etched line – influences the image's appearance, creating textures to describe the figures. Look closely, and you can see how she has used hatching, a process of creating tonal or shading effects by drawing closely spaced parallel lines. Fosie creates a sense of depth with thin, light lines suggesting the sky and ground. Fosie engaged with skilled printmaking traditions which belong to histories of creative practices and aesthetics, alongside those of craft and fine arts. But it also prompts us to think about wider social issues of labor. The work involved in the production process is considerable, from preparing the metal plate to printing and distributing the final image. By emphasizing materials, making, and context, we begin to understand the full meaning of an artwork and challenge traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.