A Cooper
1630
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
About the artist
1630
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
A Cooper is a 1630 ink by Willem Basse, a Baroque work, depicting Peasant, held at National Gallery of Art.
This print shows a bearded man hunched over a curved wooden barrel. The lines are sharp and scratchy, making the grooves in the wood look real. Shadows pool under his hands and the barrel’s rim, giving the scene weight. The artist carved this from a copper plate. He inked it then wiped most off, leaving ink only in the scratched lines. That trick makes the image pop off the page. If you like the scratchy details, look up Willem Basse’s etching technique.
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