E.139 Colleoni 2007

• I. 1st state of 4

  

  Etching. A depiction of Andrea del Verrocchio’s bronze statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni, viewed from the front right and from below. The actual orientation of the statue has been reversed in the print. Behind the statue, at the right, is the cupola of a church, crowned with an elaborate cross.

   

  Impression with faint plate tone, on wove Fabriano paper with watermark, printed by Martin King at the Venice Printmaking Studio, Venice. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-1’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 07’.

• II. 2nd state of 4

  There is now an area of oblique burnishing directly above the horse’s head.

  Impression with light grey plate tone, on wove paper, printed by Martin King at the Venice Printmaking Studio, Venice. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-2’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 07’.

• III. 3rd state of 4

  Light drypoint accents have been added to the statue.

  Impression on wove paper, printed by Martin King at the Venice Printmaking Studio, Venice. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-3’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 07’.

• IV. 4th and final state

  Considerably more drypoint has been added to the statue, in many areas. There are two variant impressions of this state.

  1. Impression with light plate tone and rich burr, on wove paper, printed by Martin King at the Venice Printmaking Studio, Venice. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-4’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 07’.
  2. Impression with saturated burr, on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-5’; lower centre (erased but legible): ‘Colleoni’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 07’. Although inscribed ‘1-5’, this is an impression of the fourth and final state.

• IV.a. 4th and final state

  

  Considerably more drypoint has been added to the statue, in many areas. There are two variant impressions of this state.

• Edition, 2007

  Edition of ten numbered impressions, on wove Velin Arches paper, printed with a light film of plate tone and rich, even burr by Rosalind Atkins at the Australian Print Workshop, Fitzroy (Melbourne), between June and November 2007. The edition included a bon à tirer impression, an artist’s proof (printed by Martin King at the APW), two APW workshop proofs, and a presentation proof. Each impression is inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘[status of impression]’ [or] ‘[1 through 10]/10’; lower centre: ‘Colleoni’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R. Amor ’07’. Chop mark embossed in lower right corner: ‘APW [within a horizontal rectangle]’.

  Edition sheet size: 380 x 280 mm

• Edition impression, 2007 (Featured Image)

  

• Comment

  This is the first of two prints in the Venice Series that depict Andrea del Verrocchio’s statue of the condottiere Bartolomeo Colleoni (1400–1475), made c.1483–88 (but cast later). It stands opposite the Scuola Grande di San Marco, on the Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo. E.139 was drawn directly onto the plate, in front of the monument, and drypoint was applied later, first in Venice and then, more comprehensively, in Melbourne. The viewpoint in the etching is from below and to the right of the statue; the statue’s orientation was reversed in printing. The view also shows the dome of the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, with its ornamental cross finial.

  Amor was captivated by the monument’s power and masculine energy, and translated its vigour into the sketchy line of the etching, together with lively drypoint. He also painted a watercolour, dated 21 June 2007, of the subject, in right profile, standing on its tall pedestal. For Amor’s second etching of Colleoni, see cat. no. E.144.