Ware afbeelding van de heer Quinquempoix, 1720 1712 - 1720

This etching from 1720, made by an anonymous artist, depicts a scene related to a figure called Quinquempoix. The medium of etching is critical here. To create an etching, the artist coats a metal plate with a waxy, acid-resistant substance, then scratches an image into the coating. When acid is applied, it bites into the exposed metal, leaving behind incised lines that hold ink. This painstaking process, a form of indirect drawing, would have been familiar to many artisans at the time, linking the artwork to wider practices of craft and production. The image itself, populated with strange figures, is a commentary on society. Quinquempoix is surrounded by chaos, perhaps suggesting the turmoil of the financial speculation of the era. The very act of etching, with its careful labor and capacity for reproduction, speaks to the burgeoning print culture and the social dynamics of consumption. This piece invites us to consider the labor embedded in its creation and the critical perspective it offers on the world of commerce and society.