Boerderij bij een hek before 1849

Remigius Adrianus Haanen made this work, 'Farm by a fence', using etching. Consider the labor involved in making a print like this. The artist would have carefully coated a metal plate with a waxy, acid-resistant ground. Using a sharp needle, he would then scratch away the ground, exposing the metal beneath in a dense network of lines. This is how he created the composition we see here. The plate was then submerged in acid, which bit into the exposed lines, creating grooves. Finally, the plate was inked, wiped clean, and pressed against a sheet of paper, transferring the image. Haanen's skill is evident in the control of the etched line, varying depth to suggest shadow and light. Although the image depicts rural life, printmaking itself was deeply connected to the urban sphere, where workshops thrived and prints were sold to a growing middle class. This etching speaks to the intricate relationship between art, labor, and the changing social landscape of the 19th century.