Parti ved Marnefloden 1850

This landscape, *Parti ved Marnefloden*, was made by Vilhelm Kyhn as an etching. The character of the artwork derives entirely from this process. An etching is made by drawing into a waxy ground on a metal plate, which is then bathed in acid. The acid bites into the exposed lines, leaving an image that can be inked and printed. As you can see here, this allows for a very high level of detail, and a complex range of tones. Notice the fineness of line used to describe the water, the trees, the figures, the sky. Kyhn would have needed considerable skill to create this image. It is an indirect medium, requiring planning and control of the materials. The resulting print speaks to the way that labor is embedded in the material. Etchings like this one allowed for the wide distribution of images, a key aspect of the industrial revolution. Ultimately, it's the intimate relationship between artist, material, and process that gives this print its evocative power.