Burnished aquatint. A view through Corte Berlendis, a covered alleyway, onto a wall beyond.
The existing light areas have been evened out with more burnishing, but the tonal contrasts have not markedly changed. The left column now has an irregular left contour, suggesting decrepitude.
The light area on the ground through the gateway has undergone further burnishing. There are two variant impressions of this state.
- Catalogue Number
- E.142
- Title and Date
- Corte Berlendis 2007
- Description of Featured Image
- A view of Corte Berlendis, in the Cannaregio district of Venice. Beyond the covered alley, with its post-and-lintel entrance, is a wall.
- Series/Book Title
- Venice Series
- Series/Illustration Number
- No. 5
- Where Made
- Venice
- Medium Category and Technique
- Intaglio Print: Burnished aquatint on copper
- Support
- Wove paper. Identified papers: Velin Arches paper.
- Dimensions
-
Image size: 257 x 177 mm
Matrix size: 260 x 181 mm - Artist’s Record Number
- RAE.169
- 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
- Three states. Edition of ten numbered impressions, 2007.
- Exhibitions
- Australian Print Workshop 2014: Australian Print Workshop, Fitzroy (Melbourne), APW George Collie Memorial Award Exhibition: Rick Amor + Noel Counihan, 30 August – 4 October 2014, no. 11.
- Collections
- State Library of Victoria, Melbourne: four state impressions, numbered 1-1 through 1-3, 2-3.
- British Museum, London: APW presentation proof (2009,7048.5).
- Series
- Venice Series: Click for a full account of the Venice Series (cat. nos E.138–E.150).
- Comment
This is the first of two prints depicting Corte Berlendis, a small alleyway or courtyard in the Cannaregio district of Venice. The other is Corte Berlendis II (cat. no. E.148), in which the subject is depicted from the opposite direction. Amor was drawn to the gateway of the alleyway by its sense of ancient, decrepit mystery and its minimal, post-and-lintel geometry. He made a pencil drawing of the gateway in his sketchbook, a sketch whose pure linearity emphasizes the simplicity of the structure. The burnished aquatint he used in creating the print, while being a technique that intrinsically lends itself to tonal work, has retained this quality of geometric minimalism.
E.142 went through very few states – a confirmation of the clear sense of purpose that Amor had when he started creating the image from the prepared aquatint. When the edition was being printed, however, he did experiment with plate tone, sometimes using so much of it as to veil the gateway in darkness; this effect can be seen in the artist’s proof illustrated here.
Amor also made a painting of Corte Berlendis, based on this print and dated to the same year.
- Keywords
- Streetscape, Venice
- URL
- https://catalogue.rickamor.com.au/works/intaglio/corte-berlendis/
Record last updated 17/02/2021