Drie dronkaards 1655 - 1700

Jan van Somer’s “Three Drunkards” was created with mezzotint, a printmaking process that depends on building up tone through laborious work. The entire surface of the copper plate would have been roughened with a tool called a rocker, creating countless tiny burrs to hold ink. Somer then burnished or scraped away these burrs in varying degrees to produce lighter tones and create the image. The effect is something like a velvet painting, which seems appropriate given the scene. A group of men have clearly tied one on, with one slumped over the table, and another actually vomiting. It is a scene of abjection, and yet the artist has taken enormous care to create a beautiful surface. Somer clearly had a sense of irony. The incredible amount of work that went into the making of this image stands in stark contrast to the slovenly subject matter. It reminds us that the meaning of an artwork is always more than just what is depicted, but how it is depicted and what materials and processes were used to create it.