Waterval bij huis 1833 - 1869

Adolf Carel Nunnink made this print of a waterfall with etching and burin. These are both printmaking techniques that involve scoring lines into a metal plate, which is then inked and pressed onto paper. In etching, the artist uses acid to bite lines into the metal. The burin, on the other hand, is a tool used to directly engrave the metal by hand. The combination of the two techniques allows for a wide range of tonal and textural effects. Look at the cascading water: the flow seems almost palpable thanks to the countless thin lines used to render it. Printmaking has always been tied to wider social issues, being a relatively democratic way of producing images at scale. While Nunnink may have approached it with a fine artist’s sensibility, the print medium itself has a rich history rooted in the world of craft and the rise of mass communication. Through this combination of techniques, Nunnink’s romantic landscape is inextricably linked to the world of labor, politics, and consumption.