E.141 Fondamente Nove II 2007

• I. 1st state of 6

  

  Drypoint. A view of the Fondamente Nove with steps leading down to the water, and mooring posts in the foreground. Across the water, on the horizon, is the Venice Arsenale.

  Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-1’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 07’.

• II. 2nd state of 6

  

  Drypoint has been added at the left: to the reflection of the third mooring pole from the left, to the surfaces and sides of the steps, and to the triangle of pavement at the centre right. Drypoint has also been added to the left of the pole nearest the steps at left; this reads like a small protrusion on the pole.

  Impression with plate tone and rich burr, on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-2’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 07’.

• III. 3rd state of 6

  

  The drypoint protrusion has been removed from the pole nearest the steps, and oblique shading has been added at its upper right. Flecks of drypoint have been added to the surface of the lowest step and to the embankment, in the far distance. More drypoint has been added to the dark triangle of the embankment.

  Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-3’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 07’.

• IV. 4th state of 6

  

  A prominent downward stroke of drypoint has been added to the left contour of the left-most mooring post; cross-hatching has also been added to that pole, and to others in the left half of the composition. Hatching and cross-hatching have been added to the steps and to the edge of the embankment, suggesting reflections on a wet surface. A small spot of pink watercolour appears in the lower left margin.

  Impression with rich burr, on wove Fabriano paper with watermark, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-4’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 07’.

• V. 5th state of 6

  The burr on the poles in the left two-thirds of the composition, and on the lower step, has been burnished back.

  Impression with light plate tone, on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-5’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 07’.

• VI. 6th and final state

  Flecks of drypoint have been added to the bottom step, while the vertical hatching in that area has been burnished. There are two variant impressions of this state.

  1. Impression on wove paper, printed by Martin King at the Australian Print Workshop, Fitzroy (Melbourne). Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-6’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 07’.
  2. Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘2-6’; lower centre: ‘Fondamente Nove’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 07’.

• VI.a. 6th and final state

  

  Flecks of drypoint have been added to the bottom step, while the vertical hatching in that area has been burnished. There are two variant impressions of this state.

• Edition, 2007

  Edition of ten numbered impressions, on wove Velin Arches paper, printed by Rosalind Atkins at the Australian Print Workshop, Fitzroy (Melbourne), between June and December 2007. The edition included a bon à tirer impression, an artist’s proof, 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: ‘Fondamenti Nove II’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 07’. Chop mark embossed in lower right corner: ‘APW [within a horizontal rectangle]’.

  Edition sheet size: 280 x 380 mm

• Edition impression, 2007 (Featured Image)

  

• Comment

  This is one of two works in the Venice Series that are titled Fondamente Nove, the other being cat. no. E.149. The section of the embankment depicted here is situated near the Venice Printmaking Studio (where the majority of the proofs of Amor’s Venice etchings were printed), and across the water is the Venice Arsenale.

  This drypoint is based closely on a pencil drawing in the large Venice Sketchbook, dated 5 June 2007 and done on the spot; both the print and the drawing are oriented in the same direction. Amor also photographed the view he depicted in these works. The present work and cat. no. E.149 were both done in Melbourne on Amor’s return from Venice.