E.052 In Barri Gòtic 1991

• I. 1st and only state

  Etching and foul biting. A view of a tall and narrow, partly demolished building of five storeys, which adjoins another building on the right. In the shadows at the lower left stands a figure, who leans against the nearby wall, supporting himself with his outstretched arm. In the central foreground is a passer-by, who walks to the right, carrying a portfolio. There are three variant impressions of this, the only state.

  1. Impression with plate tone, on wove BFK Rives paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘In Barri Gotic’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’91’.
  2. Impression on wove BFK Rives paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘AP I’; lower centre: ‘In Barri Gotic’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’91’.
  3. Impression on stiff wove Spanish paper (according to Amor’s intaglio record books), printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘AP II’; lower centre: ‘In Barri Gotic’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’91’.

• Edition, 1991

  Variable edition of six numbered impressions, on stiff wove Spanish paper (according to Amor’s intaglio record books), printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Each impression is inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘[1 through 6]/6’; lower centre: ‘In Barri Gotic’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’91’.

  Edition sheet size: 318 x 224 mm

• Edition impression, 1991 (Featured Image)

  

  Etching and foul biting. A view of a tall and narrow, partly demolished building of five storeys, which adjoins another building on the right. In the shadows at the lower left stands a figure, who leans against the nearby wall, supporting himself with his outstretched arm. In the central foreground is a passer-by, who walks to the right, carrying a portfolio.

• Comment

  This etching, like cat. nos E.050 and E.051, was made by Amor following his Visual Arts/Craft Board (Australia Council) residency in Barcelona in 1991. E.052 is based on a sketchbook drawing, which also became the model for a finished drawing in pastel (1991), two oils (both painted in 1992) and a lithograph (1992).

  Barri Gòtic is the medieval, or ‘Gothic’, quarter in Barcelona. However, the view depicted in E.052 is not of one of the picturesque old streets of the district; instead, Amor shows an ugly, partly demolished building that had intrigued him as he walked through the area. His choice of subject matter is characteristic of an artist who is so often attracted by the unsightly corners of cities – places avoided or rejected by most. The man holding a portfolio under his arm at the lower centre is not a stock figure but an actual passer-by, observed by Amor as he drew the scene.

  E.052 was etched on the verso of the copper plate earlier used for the etching River, 1989, reworked 1991 (cat. no. E.011).

  For Amor’s other intaglio prints depicting Barcelona subjects, see cat. nos E.050, E.051 and E.060.