Binnenplaats met een waterput 1845

Charles Jacque created this small etching of a courtyard with a water well sometime in the 19th century. The composition is dominated by a thatched-roof building on the left and a shadowy, implied space containing a well on the right. The heavy use of cross-hatching and dense line work creates a rich texture and a sense of enclosed space. Jacque's formal approach can be viewed through the lens of semiotics, where the courtyard becomes a signifier of rural life, and the well, an emblem of basic human needs. The overall structure invites a reading that challenges traditional notions of open space versus enclosure. The shadowy area of the well functions as a counterpoint, thus destabilizing any fixed meaning of domestic tranquility. Consider how Jacque's etching technique influences our perception, inviting us to question the boundaries between the known and the unknown, and to consider how these structures reflect a broader discourse on rurality and existence.