Twee kinderen met een duif bij een ruïne 1659 - 1694

This print, "Two Children with a Dove near a Ruin," was made by Paul van Somer II, probably near the end of the 17th century, using the technique of etching. The seemingly straightforward image is the product of a painstaking, labor-intensive process. The artist would have begun by coating a copper plate with a waxy ground. Then, using a sharp needle, he would have scratched away the ground to expose the metal underneath. The plate was then immersed in acid, which bit into the exposed lines. This process could be repeated multiple times to achieve different depths of line and tonal variation. The very qualities we admire in this image – its apparent freedom, its delicate gradations of light and shadow – are effects achieved through tremendous technical discipline. This reminds us that even seemingly effortless artworks are the result of skilled labor, a point worth remembering as we consider the broader history of art and its relationship to craft.