Gezicht op het dorp Waarde te Zeeland 1786 - 1792

Carel Frederik Bendorp made this village view using etching and engraving. It’s a print, so made by pressing an inked metal plate onto paper. The effect is crisp and precise, very different from a drawing or painting. Each line has been carefully bitten into the metal using acid, then deepened and defined with hand-held engraving tools. Look at the detail of the trees, and the way light falls on the buildings. The printmaking process was ideal for the efficient replication of images. Think of it as the pre-industrial version of photography. This made it popular among merchants wanting images of their properties. While this village scene is not obviously about labor or trade, it depended on an economy of printmaking, and the skilled labor of the engraver. Seeing this, we can appreciate how it fits into a wider world of materials, making, and distribution. It challenges us to look beyond subject matter, and to consider how the means of production shape our view of the world.