Vendeur de balets Turc c. 1650

This print, Vendeur de balets Turc, was made by François Silvestre, and demonstrates the technique of etching. The artist would have coated a metal plate with wax, drawn an image through it with a sharp needle, and then bathed the plate in acid. The acid would then bite into the exposed metal lines, allowing for printing. Silvestre has given us an image of a broom seller, likely working in France. Brooms, of course, are made from humble materials. Birch twigs are still commonly used, bound tightly around a wooden handle to create a tool for sweeping dirt. What I find interesting is that the broom seller is identified as Turkish. The artist would probably never have met such a character, which makes the image an exercise in projecting fantasies of the ‘exotic other’ onto everyday labor. So, next time you see a broom, consider the rich social and cultural history of this humble, useful object. It can tell us a surprising amount about class, labor, and the artist's own cultural viewpoint.