E.133 Self portrait at 58 2006

• I. 1st state of 6, 2006

  

  Etching and drypoint. Head and shoulders portrait of the artist, who wears spectacles and an open-necked shirt; his face is puffy and he looks straight ahead. The drypoint accents on the face, and elsewhere, are very prominent.

  Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-1’; lower centre: ‘SP at 58’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 06’.

• II. 2nd state of 6, 2006

  

  No new work has been added but the strong drypoint burr has been substantially burnished back to restore some tonal balance.

  Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-2’; lower centre: ‘SP at 58’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 06’.

• III. 3rd state of 6, 2006

  The remaining drypoint burr, especially on the right side of the face, has been further burnished. There are three variant impressions of this state.

  1. Cleanly wiped impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-3’; lower centre: ‘SP at 58’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 06’.
  2. Impression with even film of plate tone, on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-4’; lower centre: ‘SP at 58’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 06’. Although inscribed ‘1-4’, this is an impression of the third state.
  3. Impression with even film of plate tone, on wove Magnani paper with watermark, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-6’; lower centre: ‘SP at 58’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 06’. Although inscribed ‘1-6’, this is an impression of the third state.

• III.c. 3rd state of 6, 2006

  

  The remaining drypoint burr, especially on the right side of the face, has been further burnished. There are three variant impressions of this state.

• IV. 4th state of 6, 2006

  Much new etching has been added to the face, to the area of exposed skin under the chin, and to the left of the head, which now has tufts of hair sticking out as small etched lines. Burnishing appears in small areas of the forehead at right, on the vertical crease above the nose, on the right cheek, and on the chin. A deliberate horizontal scratch on the lower lip provides a highlight in that area. There are two variant impressions of this state.

  1. Cleanly wiped impression on wove BFK Rives paper with watermark, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-5’; lower centre: ‘SP at 58’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 06’. Although inscribed ‘1-5’, this is an impression of the fourth state.
  2. Dark impression with plate tone, on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘2-6’; lower centre: ‘SP at 58’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 06’. Although inscribed ‘2-6’, this is an impression of the fourth state.

• V. 5th state of 6, 2006

  

  Many highlighted areas of the head and face have been burnished to emphasize volume and plasticity; most noticeable is the burnished spectacle lens at left, which clouds the entire eye. The white areas of the neck at right are now shaded with loose curved etched lines, and the beard at left has been extended below the ear.

  Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-7’; lower centre: ‘SP at 58’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 06’. Although inscribed ‘1-7’, this is the fifth state.

• VI. 6th and final state, 2006

  

  Tonal balance has been restored with the return of etched definition to the eye and lens at left. The upper left of the head and the lower left of the chin have been burnished, as has the tip of the right ear.

  Impression on wove Hahnemühle paper with watermark, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-8’; lower centre: ‘SP at 58’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 06’. Although inscribed ‘1-8’, this is the sixth and final state.

• Edition, 2007

  Edition of ten numbered impressions, on Velin Arches paper, printed by Rosalind Atkins at the Australian Print Workshop, Fitzroy (Melbourne), March 2007. The edition included a bon à tirer impression, one artist’s proof and two APW workshop proofs. Each impression is inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘[status of impression]’ [or] ‘[1 through 10]/10’; lower centre: ‘SP at 58’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor 06’. Chop mark in lower right corner: ‘APW [within rectangle]’.

  Edition sheet size: 325 x 250 mm

  Although the edition was printed in 2007, Amor dated its impressions to 2006, this being the year in which he completed work on all states of this print.

• Edition impression, 2006, printed 2007 (Featured Image)

  

• Comment

  This is the first intaglio print that Amor made in 2006, and also the first since his successful bone marrow transplant in June 2005. In the first half of 2005, after his MDS had become full-blown leukaemia, Amor had experienced the most acute phase of his illness. Following the transplant and its associated treatments, he had to recover his strength, and as a result he made no prints in 2005.

  In E.133, his first self portrait etching since 2003, Amor’s expression is focused and serious as he scrutinizes his face, puffy from the effects of medical treatment.

  The rudimentary first state of this work was done in front of a mirror, and the etching was then taken through five more states before it reached a point where an edition could be printed. Amor’s intaglio record books list eight states for this print, but on close inspection there appear to be fewer. In some cases, the artist has numbered an impression out of sequence. When printing in his studio, Amor pegs up the impressions to dry on a line strung between the studio walls; once the sheets are dry and taken down, they occasionally get mixed up and may be incorrectly inscribed.

  Although E.133 was etched in 2006, the edition was printed in 2007. However, Amor inscribed the edition impressions with the earlier date as an acknowledgement of his having survived the potentially fatal illness he had suffered in his fifty-eighth year.