Schip met vissersnetten 1747 - 1813

This print of a ship with fishing nets was made by Pierre Ozanne sometime in the late 18th century. Ozanne was a marine engineer as well as a draftsman, and so he would have been intimately familiar with the details of maritime construction. The print is an etching, where lines are scratched into a wax ground on a metal plate, which is then submerged in acid. This technique allows for the creation of fine, precise lines, ideal for rendering the rigging and planking of the vessel. The ship is depicted in considerable detail, and so while it is a work of art, it also functions as a kind of technical drawing. The print emphasizes the way in which the vessel is equipped for the labor of fishing. The nets are clearly visible, suggesting the economic activity associated with it. By focusing on this kind of subject matter, Ozanne elevates the status of workaday life. He asks us to consider the material culture of maritime labor as worthy of artistic attention.