Robert Deyber: “It’s a Cat’s Life”

This modern stone crafted lithograph depicts a rather simple story of the ideal life of a cat. A tuna hanging representing food, a ball of string showing the cats playfulness, and mice for which the cat can toy with. The cat is clearly the point of symmetry, and the rest of the piece follows suit, with a small mouse on either side and the tuna and ball on opposite sides evening out the picture. What is most impressive is the artist’s dedication to the fading style of stone lithographs, and the impressive cleaness of the that the piece has. The piece comes from the modern era and is very easy to tell with its use of color, Modern subject, and symmetrical spacing.

Date: 2015

Medium: Hand-crafted stone lithograph

Dimensions: 11.75 x 11.5 inches 

Location: Martin-Lawrence Galleries

Accession number: n/a

Abraham Genoels: “Le Pays Stérile”

This etching comes from a flemish painter who fell in love with the style of Italy. Known for his depictions of northern italian landscapes, his landscapes where cherished for their attention to detail and fluidity of style. His use of flowing water and sharp, rocky valley like terrain are all very apparent. This piece leaves no white space left unetched and the amount of detail almost makes the piece seem dirty. However the placement of the trees on the right and rock wall on the left give the viewer almost a spyglass like view to the rest of the piece. This landscape prints use of shading, attention to detail and use of aesthetics represent the Flemish Baroque period.

Date: 1675-1691

Medium: Etching

Dimensions: 

5.23 x 6.57 in. ( 13.3 x 16.7 cm)

Location: British Museum

Accession number: S.2710

Hasui Kawase: “Autumn in Funatsu”

Hasui Kawase’s, “Autumn in Funatsu”, is a Japanese woodblock print that dates back to 1953. This print depicts a landscape shot of the Funatsu station in Kiohuko, Japan with Mt. Fuji in the background.  The use of color in Kawase’s work confirms that it is indeed an autumn day because of the warm colors in the trees.  Hasui Kawase is a notable artist from the Shin-Hanga movement in Japan which style consists of the traditional Japanese style during the Edo period with an impressionistic twist, as it was inspired by the Europeans impressionist movement.  Also, works from the Shin-Hanga movement where all created with the objective of expressing oneself.   

Date: 1953

Medium: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Dimensions: 

Sheet: 10 1/4 × 15 1/2 in. (26.04 × 39.37 cm) Image: 9 7/16 × 14 3/8 in. (23.97 × 36.51 cm)

Location: VMFA

Accession Number: 2006.474

Pieter van der Heyden: “Big Fish Eat Little Fish”

This etching is a depiction of an old latin proverb which is inscribed at the bottom of the print saying “Look son, I have long known that the big fish eat the small.” As the main image is of a massive fish being gutted and smaller fish pour from both ends. The use of exaggeration appears throughout the piece and there is a very apparent mythical tone to the etching, as hybrid creatures roam rampant. The print uses blank space incredibly well to create distance and the use of light etching creates a very smooth looking image. Shadowing also gives a rather menacing tone to the representing some evil force. The use of lessons, exaggeration, evil, and mythical hybrid creatures reflects the style of the Flemish Renaissance period.

Date: 1557

Medium: Engraving; first state of four

Dimensions:

9 x 11 5/8 in. (22.9 x 29.6 cm)

Location: The Met

Accession Number: 17.3.859

Samoa, Tapa or Siapo cloth, 20th century, bark and pigment

The Tapa is a unique style of printed work that brings forth ideas rooted in the artistic traditions of the South Pacific. Measuring in up to 60 meters long, the cloth is usually made from the inner bark of the mulberry tree. The bark is soaked, beaten to a pulp, and fused together, giving it a paper-like quality. The cloth is then laid over a drum that is covered in stencils and paint is dabbed onto the cloth leaving the imprint of the images on the cloth. These stencils are generally reused from cloth to cloth in a similar fashion that printmakers in Europe and Asia reuse their images to create multiple copies. After the images are printed on the cloth, painters fill in areas they wish to be darker by hand, completing the cloth. Traditionally this cloth is made for royalty and only on special occasions and the symbols are reflective of the power of the leader. This work presents a different perspective when considering printed works and is noteworthy because it requires that we broaden our understanding of a particular art form. The Tapa represents an approach to printmaking that mixes aesthetics with symbolism and function in a way that qualifies it as a meaningful part of global prinaking traditions.

Date: early 20th century

Medium: Barkcloth, pigment

Dimensions: 

H x W: 55 x 45 in. (139.7 x 114.3 cm)

Location: The Met

Accession Number: 1978.412.1702

Albrecht Durer: “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”

This woodcut print depicts one of the events that the bible claims will coincide with the end of the world: the ride of the four horsemen. Durer captures a sense of chaos, elevating the drama of the scene by presenting dynamic central figures to capture the viewer's attention. Incredible detail is achieved through the use of extraordinarily fine lines and Durer is even able to create believable shadows in some areas of the work. These fine details result in a work that is extremely naturalistic in its depiction of the humanoid characters and animals it represents. The elements of religiosity, high drama, and naturalism neatly fit into the northern renaissance aesthetic and this piece is highly reflective of the Northern European approach to woodcut printmaking.  

Date: ca. 1497/1498

Medium: Woodcut

Dimensions: 

Sheet: 15 1/4 x 11 7/16 in. (38.8 x 29.1 cm) Image: 15 1/4 x 11 in. (38.7 x 27.9 cm)

Location: The Met

Accession Number: 19.73.209