
Etching. A view of the Venice lagoon with steps at left and an irregular retaining wall in the approximate centre. A large wooden structure in the water occupies the horizon at right; on top is the standing figure of a workman holding a horizontal beam. The subject is etched in all its essential details.
The figure of the man has been burnished out. Much of the plate has been etched with additional horizontal and oblique hatching in order to model the structures volumetrically.
Hatching has been added to many of the areas in shadow down the centre of the plate. The post at the end of the irregular retaining wall now has an emphatic left contour, and the first strong vertical of the retaining wall has also been strengthened. The upper edge of the facing irregular strip of rubble(?) is also defined with an etched contour. Several strokes of oblique hatching have been added to the water at the lower right. There are four surviving variant impressions of this state.
- Catalogue Number
- E.140
- Title and Date
- Bridge repair, Venice 2007
- Description of Featured Image
- A view of the Venice lagoon with rising steps at left and an irregular retaining wall in the approximate centre. A large wooden structure in the water occupies the horizon at right.
- Series/Book Title
- Venice Series
- Series/Illustration Number
- no. 3
- Where Made
- Venice
- Medium Category and Technique
- Intaglio Print: Etching on copper
- Support
- Wove paper. Identified papers: Fabriano Artistico paper with watermark: ‘Artistico + Fabriano’; Fabriano Artistico papers with partial watermarks; Velin Arches paper with watermark: ‘ARCHES / FRANCE’ with infinity symbol.
- Dimensions
-
Image size: 176 x 258 mm
Matrix size: 180 x 259 mm - Artist’s Record Number
- RAE.167
- Printer(s) and Workshop(s)
- States I through III printed by Martin King at the Venice Printmaking Studio, Venice. State IV printed by Martin King at the Venice Printmaking Studio (IV.a and IV.b) and by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio (IV.c and IV.d). Edition printed by Martin King at the Australian Print Workshop, Fitzroy (Melbourne).
- Summary Edition Information
- Four states. Edition of ten numbered impressions, 2007.
- Collections
- State Library of Victoria, Melbourne: seven state impressions, numbered 1-1 through 1-5, 2-6, 3-6; ed. 2/10.
- Series
- Venice Series: Click for a full account of the Venice Series (cat. nos E.138–E.150).
- Comment
E.140 depicts part of the Fondamente Nove (or New Foundations), which is in the vicinity of the Venice Printmaking Studio. The etching is after a pencil drawing in Amor’s Venice Sketchbook, done on the spot on 12 June 2007, and is oriented in the same direction. In his work through the four states of this print, Amor was intent on achieving a strong sense of space and volume. From this perspective, the etching is different from the drawing, which is conceived largely in terms of outline.
Amor used the subject of E.140 in two later gouaches, painted in Melbourne, one dated 14 August 2008, the other 15 August 2008.
- Keywords
- Bridge, Fondamente Nove, Pier, Sea, Venice
- URL
- https://catalogue.rickamor.com.au/works/intaglio/bridge-repair-venice/
Record last updated 18/02/2021