Koe bij hek 1780 - 1851

Pieter Janson created this etching of a cow near a fence sometime in the late 18th to mid 19th century. The fine lines, created through the careful etching of a metal plate, speak to a printmaking process that was both precise and laborious. Consider the social context: this wasn’t a quick sketch, but a deliberate act of reproduction. The printmaking tradition allowed images to be disseminated widely, catering to a growing market for accessible art. The choice of subject matter is also telling: the cow, a symbol of rural life, rendered here with a straightforward, almost documentary quality. The image speaks to the agrarian economy that defined the Netherlands at the time. The etched lines create textures and tones, from the dark patches of the cow's hide, to the rough-hewn wooden fence. It’s a scene of everyday life elevated through the craft of printmaking, blurring the boundaries between simple observation and artistic expression.