Kustdorp met daarachter een steile rotswand 1862 - 1901

Jules Guiette made this etching of a coastal village and steep cliffside sometime between 1870 and 1901. Etching is an intimate process. The artist covers a metal plate with a waxy, acid-resistant ground, then scratches an image into that surface. When the plate is dipped in acid, the exposed lines are eaten away, creating grooves that hold ink. The quality of the line in an etching is distinctive: precise, but with a slightly unpredictable character caused by the acid’s bite. Guiette has exploited this perfectly in the depiction of rough stone and water, using tight hatching to build a sense of volume and atmosphere. Prints like this were often made for a bourgeois audience, to bring picturesque views into the home. But the etching medium, with its roots in the goldsmith’s workshop, also implies a different kind of value – one connected to skilled work, and close looking. The slow labor of the hand is evident in every line. So while this print is a picture of a place, it’s also a testament to the value of craft.