Gezicht op Windermere 1796

This print of Windermere lake was made by Francis Jukes with etching and aquatint, processes which rely on coating a copper plate with resin and acid. The result is a combination of line and tone; look closely, and you'll notice the myriad tiny dots that give the image its texture. It's as if the scene has been rendered in watercolor, only here the tones are captured through the controlled corrosion of metal. The act of acid-etching lends itself to endless reproduction of the image. Before photography, aquatints like this were crucial to circulating images far and wide. They bring into focus a question about labor: a workshop would have been required to create this image, involving both highly skilled artisans and many more hands to help with the task. This speaks to the social and economic context of art production, and how that affected the visual landscape of its day. Considering materials, making, and social context allows us to broaden our understanding of the artwork and to challenge the boundaries of art history.