Huis naast een heuveltop begroeid met bomen 1615 - 1655

Lodewijk de Vadder made this etching, ‘House next to a hilltop covered with trees,’ using an iron plate and acid. The process of etching is fascinating. The artist coats the plate with wax, then scratches an image into it with a needle. The plate is then submerged in acid, which bites into the exposed lines. This is repeated to get different depths of line. The plate is then inked, and wiped clean, leaving ink only in the etched lines. When paper is pressed against the plate, the image is transferred. In this image, we see the direct result of Vadder's labor. The landscape with the house is the result of a labor-intensive printmaking process that requires meticulous attention to detail, from preparing the plate to carefully controlling the etching process. The image offers insight into labor and rural life in 17th-century Flanders, moving beyond the picturesque to reveal something about the working conditions that shaped people’s lives.