Twee honden 1639 - 1677

This print of two dogs was made by Johan le Ducq, likely in the mid-17th century, using the process of etching. A metal plate is coated with wax, and the image is then scratched into the wax with a needle. The plate is then immersed in acid, which bites into the metal where the wax has been removed. The linear quality of the etching technique is on full display here; the artist coaxes tone and volume from the surface of the dogs through hatching and cross-hatching. The animals almost seem to be built up from these marks. Prints like this one were a staple of the early modern art market, and were relatively inexpensive to produce. Sold loose or bound into books, they catered to a growing population of middle-class consumers. While we don’t know for sure, it is likely that an image like this, because of its subject, would have been made to decorate a hunter's home.