Gezicht op een boomgaard bij Honfleur c. 1873

Carel Nicolaas Storm van 's-Gravesande made this etching called "Gezicht op een boomgaard bij Honfleur," or "View of an Orchard near Honfleur." The etching process is fascinating. It involves coating a metal plate with a waxy, acid-resistant substance, then scratching an image into that coating. When the plate is dipped in acid, the exposed lines are eaten away, creating grooves. Ink is then applied to the plate, filling these grooves, and the surface is wiped clean. Finally, the plate is pressed onto paper, transferring the ink and creating the print. Here, the artist coaxes a whole world out of the simple etched line. The character of the line itself is crucial to the effect. Look at the foreground trees, see how they’re given a gnarly quality by the artist's patient rendering? There’s a beautiful contrast with the background, which fades away into a soft gray haze. The choice of etching, rather than another medium, is crucial, giving the image a quality of immediacy, a quick impression. This directness connects the image to the working process that generated it.