Etching. An ancient dilapidated turret with a pointed roof sits atop a wooden sluice gate; the structure is set into the corner of two adjoining buildings made of bricks and with peeling render. The subject is etched in all its essential details.
Drypoint accents have been added across many areas of the plate, to provide tonal contrast and to give the architectural details greater definition. There are three variant impressions of this state.
- Catalogue Number
- E.146
- Title and Date
- Building by a canal, Venice 2007
- Description of Featured Image
- A depiction of an ancient, dilapidated turret, with a pointed roof, that sits atop a wooden sluice gate; the structure is set into the corner of two adjoining buildings, whose walls consist of bricks and peeling render.
- Series/Book Title
- Venice Series
- Series/Illustration Number
- no. 9
- Where Made
- Venice
- Medium Category and Technique
- Intaglio Print: Etching and drypoint on copper
- Support
- Wove paper. Identified papers: Hahnemühle paper with watermark: cockerel within a circle; Velin Arches paper with watermark: ‘ARCHES / FRANCE’ with infinity symbol.
- Dimensions
-
Image size: 179 x 128 mm
Matrix size: 180 x 130 mm - Artist’s Record Number
- RAE.173
- Printer(s) and Workshop(s)
- All state impressions printed by Martin King at the Venice Printmaking Studio, Venice. Edition printed by Rosalind Atkins at the Australian Print Workshop, Fitzroy (Melbourne).
- Summary Edition Information
- Two states. Edition of ten numbered impressions, 2007.
- Exhibitions
- Australian Print Workshop 2007–08: Australian Print Workshop, Fitzroy (Melbourne), Fondamenti Nove, 21 November 2007 – 2 February 2008, no. 4.
- Collections
- State Library of Victoria, Melbourne: four state impressions, numbered 1-1, 1-2, 2-2, 3-2; ed. 2/10.
- Series
- Venice Series: Click for a full account of the Venice Series (cat. nos E.138–E.150).
- Comment
This is one of four Venice etchings that Amor drew directly onto the copper plate, in front of the subject; the drypoint accents were added later. The ancient architecture depicted in this print is reminiscent of some of the buildings and architectural fragments seen in Charles Meryon’s engravings of medieval Paris.
The etching was substantially resolved in the first state. In the second state, however, Amor used drypoint additions to clarify architectural details and to achieve a livelier tonal modulation of the surface. He also experimented with plate tone and decided upon having the edition printed with a light film of plate tone. The resulting effect was in keeping with the decrepitude of the subject matter, and consistent with Amor’s response to the Venetian environment as a whole: ‘all darkness and death’, in his view.
- Keywords
- Building, Charles Meryon, Venice
- URL
- https://catalogue.rickamor.com.au/works/intaglio/building-by-a-canal/
Record last updated 17/02/2021