Landschap met een bepakte vrouw lopend over een brug 1713 - 1768

This landscape with a woman walking over a bridge was made by Johann Caspar Ulinger using etching, a printmaking technique. Ulinger would have coated a metal plate with a waxy, acid-resistant substance called a 'ground'. Then, using a sharp needle, he scratched away the ground to expose the metal beneath, drawing the landscape. The plate was then submerged in acid, which bit into the exposed metal, creating incised lines. Once the ground was removed, the plate was inked, and the surface wiped clean, leaving ink only in the etched lines. Finally, the plate was pressed onto paper, transferring the image. Here, the etched lines create a sense of depth, defining the trees, and the figure of the woman with her burden. The process speaks to the labor involved in both the printmaking and the implied journey of the woman in the landscape, highlighting the interconnectedness of making and wider social narratives. Etching elevates the status of printmaking from mere reproduction to a skilled art form.