Dinner Time 1934

Paul A. Busch pulled this etching, “Dinner Time,” from a plate, sometime in the mid-20th century. Look at the swarm of activity, etched line by etched line, to build up a whole scene of family life. I love the idea of etching, where you have to go in and remove material to make the image appear, a bit like drawing with light. It’s a very manual process, each line carefully placed, building up tone and texture. You can see how he used cross-hatching to create depth and shadow, giving the whole scene a sense of warmth and intimacy. The composition, with everyone gathered around the table, is really inviting and reminds me a little of a Vermeer interior. I can almost smell the food cooking on the stove! Busch used a limited palette and his mark-making emphasizes the everyday. I can imagine him, back in the day, trying to capture a moment that was both ordinary and deeply meaningful. It’s a snapshot of a life and a time, but also speaks to something universal about family and connection.