Jan Poortenaar borstelt een etsplaat c. 1930 - 1950

This photograph shows Jan Poortenaar brushing an etching plate, taken by an anonymous photographer. The subject is so deeply focused on brushing the plate, lost in the repetitive gesture. You know, sometimes the magic happens in the mundane, right? I get that. I wonder if he ever felt like Sisyphus pushing that boulder uphill, only to watch it roll back down? You’ve got to find pleasure in the ritual. I look at his hands, and it reminds me of my own relationship with tools. How they become extensions of the body through repetition. A painter’s hands are their most prized possession. The etcher’s too, I guess. It's a collaboration between the body, the tool, and the medium. A dance between intention and accident.