Guard of the Casbah in Tetuan n.d.

Mariano Fortuny Marsal created this etching, *Guard of the Casbah in Tetuan,* using metal, acid, and ink. This technique, which dates back to the early 16th century, involves coating a metal plate with wax, scratching an image into the wax, and then immersing the plate in acid. The acid bites into the exposed metal, creating an image that can then be inked and printed. Fortuny's use of etching lends this image a immediacy; you can see the marks of the artist's hand as he scratched into the plate. The deep blacks and subtle grays convey the play of light and shadow in the Moroccan scene, imbuing it with a sense of atmosphere. It's a process deeply connected to the history of printmaking, a medium often associated with both artistic expression and commercial reproduction. By focusing on the making of this work, we can appreciate Fortuny's skill and how he harnessed the inherent qualities of the etching process. It reminds us that the meaning of art lies not only in its subject matter, but also in the materials and techniques used to create it.