Boom van Picton 1820 - 1850

This print, “Boom van Picton,” of unknown date and authorship, is made with the intaglio process – likely etching or engraving. In this technique, an image is incised into a metal plate. The plate is then inked, and the surface wiped clean, leaving ink only in the incised lines. Finally, paper is pressed against the plate, transferring the image. Here, the sharp, precise lines of the intaglio process lend themselves well to the somber scene. The stark contrast between light and shadow creates a sense of drama and monumentality, befitting the subject matter of the memorial landscape, with a stone pillar. This was intended to evoke a scene of patriotism and sacrifice. But this artwork, like the monuments it depicts, also prompts questions. The labor-intensive intaglio process itself speaks to the effort involved in creating and disseminating such images to a wide audience, fueling a sense of national pride, while obscuring the violence of war. And whose stories were deemed worthy of monumentalization in the first place?