Landschap met dorp aan water c. 1850 - 1883

Jerôme Tuyttens created this small landscape, a ‘village on the water’ in monochrome print on paper. The image is achieved through the graphic art technique known as etching. The etcher coats a metal plate with a waxy, acid-resistant material. They then scratch off the coating with a pointed tool where they want lines to appear in the finished piece, before immersing the plate in acid, which eats into the exposed metal. Finally, the plate is inked and printed onto paper, resulting in a mirror image of the design. The beauty of etching lies in its capacity to capture fine details and subtle tonal gradations through careful manipulation of line and texture. This process allowed Tuyttens to conjure a landscape, complete with dramatic clouds and a distant village, all within a small format. Thinking about the amount of work involved, from the preparation of the plate, to the acid etching, inking, and printing, we start to see the depth of labor and the artistry of the printmaking craft.