The New Ballad
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Plate: 5 3/4 × 8 9/16 in. (14.6 × 21.8 cm) Sheet: 7 3/8 × 10 1/4 in. (18.7 × 26 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Anonymous gift, 1925
Accession Number
25.6
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
"The New Ballad" is an etching created between 1903 and 1924, capturing a quiet moment among women and girls. The title suggests a scene of storytelling or song, reflecting the intimate, everyday subjects popular in early twentieth-century printmaking. Though listed as anonymous, the work carries associations with Anders Zorn, whose masterful etchings often explored similar themes of feminine grace and light. Etching allowed artists to achieve remarkable tonal range and delicate line work through acid-bitten metal plates. This medium was especially prized for its ability to reproduce subtle gradations of light and shadow, giving prints a luminous, almost painterly quality. Here, the technique brings a sense of immediacy and warmth to the figures, inviting viewers into a shared, reflective experience. Acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art through an anonymous gift in 1925, the print exemplifies how etching democratized art, making evocative images of women’s lives accessible beyond the gallery wall. Its modest size encourages close looking, rewarding the viewer with the quiet poetry of ordinary moments rendered extraordinary through skilled printmaking.
About the Artist
Anonymous, 20th century|Anders Zorn ( |Swedish) · 1900 |1860 –1999 |1920
|Swedish, Mora 1860–1920 Mora