Gezicht op de Noordmonsterkerk te Middelburg 1722

This small print, ‘View of the Noordmonsterkerk in Middelburg,’ was made by an anonymous artist, using etching techniques. Here, a metal plate is coated with a waxy ground, upon which the image is scratched with a needle. The plate is then immersed in acid, which bites into the exposed lines, before being inked and printed. This is a process capable of capturing fine detail, which we see in the architecture of the church. The etching process allowed for the mass production of images. These prints functioned as a kind of early photography, documenting places and buildings, and they were popular among the rising middle class. Consider the amount of labor involved: from the mining of metal for the plate, to the skilled work of the etcher, and the labour of the printing process. This unassuming image opens a window into the world of early capitalism, and the democratizing effect of printmaking, which made images accessible to a broad public. It reminds us that there is nothing anonymous about the world of labour that brought it into being.