Vrouw dicteert een brief aan een schrijvende man 1880

Jules James Rougeron made this print, depicting a woman dictating a letter to a writing man, using etching. The medium of etching involves covering a metal plate with a waxy, acid-resistant layer. The artist then scratches an image into this layer, exposing the metal underneath. When the plate is dipped in acid, the exposed lines are eaten away, creating grooves. Ink is applied, filling these grooves, and the plate is pressed onto paper, transferring the image. The labor-intensive process of etching is well-suited to depicting scenes of labor, as we see here. The material and its working also evoke the social context of the 19th century, when letter writing was a common form of communication, but literacy was not universal. The woman's dictation and the man's transcription highlight the division of labor and the different skills required for communication in this era. In the end, this print reminds us that even seemingly simple images are the product of skilled labor, both in their making and in their depiction. By considering the materials, processes, and social context of this work, we can gain a deeper appreciation for its meaning and significance.