I.a. 1st state of 11, 2011
II. 2nd state of 11, 2011
III. 3rd state of 11, 2011
IV. 4th state of 11, 2011
VI.a. 6th state of 11, 2011
Edition impression (first edition, 2011) (Featured Image)
VII.a. 7th state of 11, 2012
Edition impression (second edition, 2012), as The path II
Hors commerce impression from the second edition, 2012, printed in two runs through the press, as The path II
IX. 9th state of 11, 2018, as The tower
XI. 11th and final state, 2018, as The tower
E.166 The path 2011; reworked and retitled 2012, reworked and retitled 2018
I.a. 1st state of 11, 2011
Etching. Dominating the scene is a tall circular building with a curved outline, tapering towards the top. It is surmounted by a dome; a light shines behind the dome at the right. The sky is densely cross-hatched at the top, but fades into whiteness at the horizon. In front of the building is a garden with a curving path, a cypress in the right foreground, small trees at the left and three trees and a bush. There are two variant impressions of this state.
II. 2nd state of 11, 2011
Rays of light now emanate from the light source behind the dome at right; they have been burnished in.
Selectively wiped 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: ‘1-3’; lower centre: ‘The Path’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor ’11’. Although inscribed ‘1-3’, this is the second state.
III. 3rd state of 11, 2011
The light rays have contracted, due to the addition of an area of oblique hatching at the top of the plate; it emerges from the corners and the top, and is directed towards the dome. The lower part of the sky has been burnished and is now markedly lighter and more modulated tonally; the lower left edge of the building has also been burnished. Several horizontal lines have been added to the path at the far left.
Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-4’; lower centre: ‘The Path’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor ’11’. Although inscribed ‘1-4’, this is the third state.
IV. 4th state of 11, 2011
The light source to the right of the dome has become even more contained as the etched lines around the building have been extended downward. Several oblique hatched lines have been added to the lower left of the dome. Accents of deep etching have been added to the upper corners of the plate, to the building itself and to the tall cypress. The patch of light ground in front of the building has been darkened with the addition of broken lines of horizontal shading.
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: ‘The Path’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R Amor ’11’. Although inscribed ‘1-5’, this is the fourth state.
VI.a. 6th state of 11, 2011
The left contour of the dome has been clearly outlined with etching, and the left of the building has received more dark accents. There are two variant impressions of this state.
Edition impression (first edition, 2011) (Featured Image)
VII.a. 7th state of 11, 2012
The background, and the trees at the lower left, have been burnished back and then re-etched with hatching and cross-hatching. There are two variant impressions of this state.
Edition impression (second edition, 2012), as The path II
The area immediately to the left of the top of the cypress has been lightly burnished to make it stand out more clearly.
Hors commerce impression from the second edition, 2012, printed in two runs through the press, as The path II
IX. 9th state of 11, 2018, as The tower
Etching, burnishing and drypoint. The curving path prominent in previous states has been largely removed with burnishing, although a faint trace remains. Added to this is a small, non-continuous path above and to the left of the existing path. The foreground garden and cypress tree have been extensively burnished back. The artist has re-etched and applied drypoint to the area in front of the tower, creating several trees with bare branches and four spindly bushes. The ground is heavily worked with hatching to create an area in complete shadow. The tower is significantly reworked, especially in the lower right corner. Horizontal lines have been added up the tower and an earlier spot of light on the dome has been subdued with etched lines. The background features significant burnishing to create bright a back-lighting. Across the sky five dramatic beams of light crisscross the darkness behind the tower; they have been burnished into the cross-hatching.
Impression with plate tone, selectively wiped, on wove Hahnemühle paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-1’; lower centre: ‘The Tower’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R. Amor 18’.
XI. 11th and final state, 2018, as The tower
The light beams in the sky have been further burnished in order to appear brighter. There are three impressions of this state: one state proof and two artist’s proofs.
- Impression on Velin Arches paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1-3’; lower centre: ‘The Tower’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R. Amor ‘18’.
- Impression on wove Hahnemühle paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘AP I’; lower centre: ‘The Tower’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R. Amor 18’.
- Impression on wove Hahnemühle paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘AP II’; lower centre: ‘The Tower’; lower right: signed and dated ‘R. Amor ‘18’.
Etching. Dominating the scene is a tall circular building with a curved outline, tapering towards the top. It is surmounted by a dome; a light shines behind the dome at the right. The sky is densely cross-hatched at the top, but fades into whiteness at the horizon. In front of the building is a garden with a curving path, a cypress in the right foreground, small trees at the left and three trees and a bush. There are two variant impressions of this state.
Rays of light now emanate from the light source behind the dome at right; they have been burnished in.
The light rays have contracted, due to the addition of an area of oblique hatching at the top of the plate; it emerges from the corners and the top, and is directed towards the dome. The lower part of the sky has been burnished and is now markedly lighter and more modulated tonally; the lower left edge of the building has also been burnished. Several horizontal lines have been added to the path at the far left.
The light source to the right of the dome has become even more contained as the etched lines around the building have been extended downward. Several oblique hatched lines have been added to the lower left of the dome. Accents of deep etching have been added to the upper corners of the plate, to the building itself and to the tall cypress. The patch of light ground in front of the building has been darkened with the addition of broken lines of horizontal shading.
The left contour of the dome has been clearly outlined with etching, and the left of the building has received more dark accents. There are two variant impressions of this state.
The background, and the trees at the lower left, have been burnished back and then re-etched with hatching and cross-hatching. There are two variant impressions of this state.
The area immediately to the left of the top of the cypress has been lightly burnished to make it stand out more clearly.
Etching, burnishing and drypoint. The curving path prominent in previous states has been largely removed with burnishing, although a faint trace remains. Added to this is a small, non-continuous path above and to the left of the existing path. The foreground garden and cypress tree have been extensively burnished back. The artist has re-etched and applied drypoint to the area in front of the tower, creating several trees with bare branches and four spindly bushes. The ground is heavily worked with hatching to create an area in complete shadow. The tower is significantly reworked, especially in the lower right corner. Horizontal lines have been added up the tower and an earlier spot of light on the dome has been subdued with etched lines. The background features significant burnishing to create bright a back-lighting. Across the sky five dramatic beams of light crisscross the darkness behind the tower; they have been burnished into the cross-hatching.
The light beams in the sky have been further burnished in order to appear brighter. There are three impressions of this state: one state proof and two artist’s proofs.
- Catalogue Number
- E.166
- Title and Date
- The path
2011; reworked and retitled 2012, reworked and retitled 2018
- Subsequent Title(s)
- The path II
- The tower
- Description of Featured Image
- Dominating the scene is a tall, circular building with a curved profile, tapering towards the top. It is surmounted by a dome; a light shines behind the dome at the right. The sky is densely cross-hatched at the top of the image, but fades into whiteness at the horizon. In front of the building is a garden with a curving path, a cypress in the right foreground, small trees at left and three trees and a bush directly in front of the tower. This is an impression from the first edition. The plate underwent two further state changes, and was editioned for a second time in 2012, with the title The path II. In 2018, the plate was altered again in three further states, in which the artist removed the cypress and simplified the shapes and details of the remaining trees and bushes, whose bare branches now suggest a winter scene. Retitled The Tower, the 2018 version places greater emphasis on the looming building by using greater back-lighting. The winter trees and the path in front of the tower are heavily shadowed.
- Where Made
- Alphington, Melbourne
- Medium Category and Technique
- Intaglio Print: Etching, burnishing and drypoint on copper
- Support
- Wove paper. Identified papers: BFK Rives paper with watermark: ‘BFK RIVES / FRANCE’ with infinity symbol; Somerset paper with watermark: ‘somerset / ENGLAND’; Arches paper with watermark: ‘ARCHES / FRANCE’ with infinity symbol; Velin Arches paper, Hanhnemühle paper.
- Dimensions
-
Image size: 148 x 100 mm
Matrix size: 148 x 100 mm - Artist’s Record Number
- RAE.203 (2011), RAE.208 (2012), RAE.224 (2018)
- Printer(s) and Workshop(s)
- All state impressions printed by Rick Amor in his Alphington studio. First and second editions printed by Rosalind Atkins at Kate Herd’s studio, Alphington.
- Summary Edition Information
- Eleven states. Two editions. First edition: edition of ten numbered impressions, 2011 (The path). Second edition: edition of ten numbered impressions, 2012 (The path II). No edition of The tower, 2018.
- Exhibitions
- Art Gallery of South Australia 2016–17: Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Rick Amor: Contemporary Romantic, 2 December 2016 – 30 April 2017 [no catalogue], ed. 1/10, 2012 (The path II).
- Collections
- State Library of Victoria, Melbourne: eight state impressions, numbered 1-1 through 1-7, 2-7, all dated 2011 (The path); ed. 2/10, dated 2011 (The path); four state impressions, numbered 1-1, 2-1, 1-2, 2-2, all dated 2012 (The path II); ed. 2/10, dated 2012 (The path II).
- Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide: ed. 3/10, dated 2011 (The path); ed. 1/10, dated 2012 (The path II).
- Comment
The tower in this etching was inspired by the city tower with domed roof in Fritz Lang’s 1927 film Metropolis, although here the structure has been removed from its urban context and placed in a garden setting. The garden is based on that in Amor’s earlier plein-air painting of a public garden in the Melbourne suburb of Northcote; this work includes a distant view of a public housing block, which has been replaced in the print with the tower from Metropolis.
The etching was made after a painting of the same title (not exhibited as of December 2016), in which the tower, depicted in the pale, unearthly colours of pink, grey, green and yellow, appears like a vision. The transformation of the motif through the eight states and two editions of the print reflects Amor’s search for the graphic equivalent of the painted tower’s eerie, surreal quality.
Amor recognizes that the image also contains a literary echo, in that it recalls Franz Kafka’s novel The Castle (Das Schloss; first published 1926).
- Keywords
- Building, Fritz Lang, Gardens, Metropolis (film)
- URL
- https://catalogue.rickamor.com.au/works/intaglio/the-path/
Record last updated 18/12/2024