Shepherd Resting in a Clearing

While most etchings are created in the intaglio process whereby the etched lines hold ink, in this print by Harpignies, the work is printed like a woodcut, a relief process. Here the surface of the plate was covered with black ink and printed as a relief so that the etched lines, which do not hold ink, appear white. This was an unusual process to be used in the nineteenth century and was likely done by the artist as a technical experiment.