E.009 Self portrait 1989; reworked 1991

• I. 1st state of 7, 1989

  

  Drypoint. A self portrait from the neck up, in which the artist is depicted wearing a T-shirt. He is bald and has a beard and moustache. The image is lightly scored in drypoint.

  Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘Self Portrait’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor 89’; lower right corner: initialled ‘RA’.

• II. 2nd state of 7, 1989

  More vertical scoring has been added to the background along the left edge, and at the upper and lower right. The face and brow have received additional lines of modelling.

  Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘2 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘Self Portrait’; lower right: signed and dated: ‘Rick Amor 89’; lower right corner: initialled ‘RA’.

• III. 3rd state of 7, 1989

  Drypoint has been added to the beard and ears so as to achieve greater definition in these areas, and drypoint cross-hatching has been added to the cheeks.

  Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘3 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘Self Portrait’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor 89’.

• IV. 4th state of 7, 1989

  Drypoint accents have been added to the pupils of the eyes and to the circles below the eyes. There are two variant impressions of this state.

  1. Impression with burr, on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘4 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘Self Portrait’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor 89’.
  2. Impression with less burr and light plate tone, on wove Fabriano paper with watermark, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘5 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘Self Portrait’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor 89’. Although inscribed ‘5’, this is an impression of the fourth state.

• IV.a. 4th state of 7, 1989

  

  Drypoint accents have been added to the pupils of the eyes and to the circles below the eyes. There are two variant impressions of this state.

• V. 5th state of 7, 1991

  The plate has been lightly burnished to remove some of the burr, and much new etched hatching has been added to various areas, including the top of the head. The left eye is lighter than the right. Oblique hatched modelling has been introduced at the left of the neck, and at the left and right of the face, giving it a greater volumetric sense. However, the face appears thinner, with pronounced pouches under the eyes. Loose drypoint cross-hatching has been added to the background.

  Cleanly wiped impression on wove BFK Rives paper with watermark, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘Self Portrait’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’91’. Although inscribed ‘1’, this is the fifth state.

• VI. 6th state of 7, 1991

  Much new linear hatching has been brought to the image. Oblique drypoint hatching has been added to both sides of the nose, to the upper cheeks, and to the eyebrows. The facial contour and the outline of the ears have been strengthened. Oblique hatching has also been added in the upper and lower right quadrants of the background, and rows of horizontal lines appear just above the ears; these lines are matched by a new area of repeated horizontal strokes at the neckline. The effect is to anchor the portrait in pictorial space.

  Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘2 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘Self Portrait’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’91’. Although inscribed ‘2’, this is the sixth state.

• VII. 7th and final state, 1991 (Featured Image)

  

  The inner structure of both ears has been better defined, with oblique drypoint hatching, and loose hatching has been added to the left background and at the lower left, above the shoulder. A horizontal line has been scored along the top of the composition.

  Impression with rich burr and plate tone, on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘AP’; lower centre: ‘S. P’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’91’.

• No edition

• Comment

  This, Rick Amor’s first intaglio self portrait, was drawn directly onto the copper plate, in front of a mirror. Among Amor’s prints, E.009 was preceded by seven relief-printed self portraits, the earliest of them being a linocut made in 1983.

  After taking the present print through four states in 1989, Amor left it unfinished, returning to it two years later, in 1991, to rectify the imbalance between the right and left halves of the face.

  When asked why he did not edition this drypoint, Amor commented that, having made a print, it is often satisfying enough for him to produce just a few impressions, rather than go through the procedures and formalities of printing an entire edition, however small.

  Amor inscribed the seventh and final state of E.009 (1991) with the letters ‘SP’, a designation he had first used in titling his intaglio self portraits in 1990 (see cat. nos E.016, E.017 and E.018).