My God look at that Croc!

This engraving, "Africa" by the flemish engraver Adrian Collaert (1560 -1618), is from an allegorical series based on the four continents.  This image as well as the other three from the series are a collaboration with the painter Marten de Vos (1532-1608). Collaert is from and engraving dynasty, his father and sons all followed him in the trade of making and the publishing of prints.  Out of all them, Adrian stands out in terms of technical excellence...... but more importantly in terms of imagination.  While not as masterful at engraving copper as Durer or Goltzius, Collaert's "Africa" is carried by whimsy and invention!  Alluding to the wild and exotic nature that is Africa, a woman rides a grinning crocodile that seems almost human.  This crocodile could be out of a Looney Tunes escapade, or any low budget B level horror flick.  Despite all this, the damn thing has a presence and might be my favorite depiction of a croc or alligator in all of art history! (this includes any version by Sean Star Wars). Sometimes, what is from the imagination ends up seeming more real and menacing than the actual thing.  It is doubtful Collaert had ever even seen a REAL crocodile, and as a viewer I am thanking the print gods for it.  Not always, but sometimes a bit of magic happens when technical limitations marry with vivid imagination resulting in some kind of overall mastery.  This is in fact one of those rare moments in print history.  I absolutely love this print. To read all about Collaert and the other prints in the "Four Continents" series check out this LINK!

P.S. Back in the day, an image of a woman riding a goat backwards was intended to represent a witch.   Don't know what a woman riding a croc backwards may mean, but it is certainly evil food for thought!

Adrian Collaert, Africa, engraving, 8 3/16 x 10 3/16 in, 1588-89

Chance Meeting

If you do not know who Martin Lewis is......well I feel bad for you.  But let me brighten your day: Martin Lewis (1881-1962) is one of the most underrated printmakers of all time.  This print, "Chance Meeting" is arguably his most famous image.  A collector friend of mine in Chicago has a beautiful impression of this hanging outside of his guest room.  Fortunately for me i get to worship this print every time I visit, and I'm still trying to figure out some sort of deal to work out with him so I could take the thing home! Lewis specialized in New York street scenes, often with a use of strong lighting to create drama and depth.  Lewis was an etcher, and was obviously heavily influenced by the work of Rembrandt.  He was able to combine the elements of drypoint and aquatint with staggering mastery. While not as wild in his plate wiping skills as Rembrandt,  Lewis was able to inject otherwise mundane subject matter with mystery and nostalgia by a heightened use of light and shadow.  A lot of Lewis's scenes happen at night, a lot like in the work of Edward Hopper (whom he later taught etching).  Martin Lewis is recognized in collector circles as one of the most important American printmakers, and to me this is an understatement.  Problem is........he was AUSTRALIAN!  He came to the U.S. around the age of 20 and fell in love with New York.  Martin Lewis's body work proves that he ranks among the greatest printmakers of all time regardless of his country of origin.

Martin Lewis, "Chance Meeting", etching, 10"x7 1/2", 1940-41

For more on Martin Lewis check him out HERE.

Check out more of his prints HERE.

Learn all about what an etching is HERE.

DURER'S ONLY WORTHY RIVAL.

Todays Print Lesson:  "The Dance of St. Mary Magdalene" by Lucas Van Leyden (1494-1533), engraving, 11" x 15", 1519.  This engraving is one of the most beautiful and technically impressive in the history of intaglio printmaking.  Considering that "Master Lucas" (as Albrecht Dürer called him!) lived a short time, and during the period that Durer dominated, its amazing to look at his body of work and what he was able to accomplish.  Master Lucas manages to create atmosphere and depth by skillful engraving only rivaled by Durer, and in some cases such as this he may even surpass him!   His  pictorial composition skills are unsurpassed. I spent a couple of weeks in Nuremberg at the national museum a few years back.  Every day I went to the print room determined to look at in real life, every single Durer, Cranach, Van Leyden, & Altdorfer that exists.  I did, and came away with no doubt in my mind that Durer was the best, but not by far.  His closest rival was Master Lucas.  For just a second you need to look at his birthdate, and then the date of his best work.  You will soon be floored by the fact that he did his best work when he was around the age of 20!  Hell, he did "The Dance of St Mary Magdalene" at 25!  He was a prodigy, and Durer knew this.  Durer collected prints by him. Talk about getting respect.  Pure and simple, he was one of the most gifted printmakers that ever lived.  Period.  For more on Master Lucas read about him HERE.  Also, visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art's page regarding this print.

Sometimes I dream, That he is me. Like Al....If I could be like Al..........

Hendrik Goltzius (January or February 1558 – January 1, 1617) was a Dutch printmaker and painter who specialized in engraving and woodcuts.  His right hand was deformed in a fire when he was a boy, and this tragedy allegedly helped him hold the engraver's burin in a unique manner enabling for spectacular control of the instrument (see image below).  This guy is the ONLY person in my book who rivals that of Durer in terms of technical virtuosity and imagination.  Goltzius also made many woodcuts.  Of those, "Hercules Killing Cacus" (1588) is the most famous and spectacular.  The print is a "chiaroscuro" woodcut, which is printed with tone and color blocks under the key block image.  Goltzius manages to capture the fury of the subject matter while maintaining beauty through the display of masterful technique.  Goltzius was one of the few printmakers who was able to maintain delicacy in his carved woodcut lines in the same manner as his engraved lines.  This is no small feat, considering the hardness of the woods used in those days (apple, cherry, & pear).  The depth of field achieved here is really incredible and unique in the world of woodcuts.  The color choice of the tone block certainly helps. Under close review, lines swell and taper depending on the texture of the surface Goltzius chooses to describe, and he is able to show restraint as well when depicting atmospheric perspective.  Goltzius allegedly created a number of "fake" copies of some of Durer's famous engravings in an effort to stroke his own ego, if the viewers could be fooled!  Hendrick need not worry. He was a spectacular artist in his own right and his prints stand the test of time and belong alongside many of the greatest printmakers of all time.  His dead rival Durer included!  Read more about Goltzius HERE

Goltzius's deformed hand, as engraved by the man himself (below)

Never go bald in England........

"The Five Orders of Perriwigs as they were Worn at the Late Coronation Measured Architectomically" by William Hogarth, engraving, 1761.

This is a satire on fashion of the time....and how it was defined by your choice of wig!  Hogarth compares these wigs to the five orders of architechture......mocking the rules of beauty.  He divides the periwigs into five categories that parody the five orders of Palladian architectural rules, the Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Composite and Tuscan. The equivalents William Hogarth fashions are Episcopal (the clergy), Old Peerian or Aldermanic (city officials and peers), Lexonic (lawyers), Composite or Half Natural and 'Queerinthian'. The final category is derived from 'Corinthian' and represents the most ornate and effete.  Genius!

A GIANT of the miniature.........in the shadow of DURER

Hans Sebald Beham (1500–1550) was a German printmaker who did his best work as an engraver, and was also a designer of woodcuts. He is one of the most important of the "Little Masters", the group of German artists making prints in the generation after Dürer.  Mostly forgotten today, this guy was great and specialized in extremely small prints often not larger than 1"x2 1/2".  His print seem to sparkle and have a HUGE presence in spite of their small size.  Perhaps working in Nuremberg around the same time as Durer was not a help to his career.  Regardless, he is one of the true greats in the engraving medium and in my opinion deserves way more study.  Here is "Adam & Eve" from 1543(?), 82 mm x 56mm.  For more on Beham visit the Wikipedia page.

And the bowels of Lucifer shall be released!

And the Devil Poops.......

The Greatest Print Of All Time.

Knight, Death & The Devil, 1513, engraving, Albecht Durer.  This copper plate engraving is from Durer's so called "master suite" of 4 prints which includes "Adam & Eve", "Melencolia", and "St Jerome In His Study". This work is a stellar example of the mastery of Durer's command of the engraving technique.  Durer was able to get the amazing values and delicate textures through his unparalelled mastery of directional line.  Hatching, cross hatching, contour, & cross contour are all on heartbreaking display.  They make you try all this stuff in beginning drawing class in art school.  I first saw this print in real life when i was working a print fair while in grad school.  It looked like the thing had been printed the day before. The impression had 1/8 inch borders, and the ink just glistened and sat on the surface of the non bleached paper.  Just killer.  I looked at the price and it was something like $200,000.  I thought about stealing it for a split second.  I could have made it outta that place!  When i came back the next day it had a red dot by it.  It had SOLD to a local collector!   Years later the same collector bought some of my prints.  He invited me over to his house and DAMNIT THERE IT WAS HANGING IN HIS LIVING ROOM.  I again thought about stealing it for a split second. So, you see, I have a special connection to this print.  I'm waiting to run into it again.  I was thinking specifically about this print when i was working on my woodcut "The Jolly Guano Brothers Ride Again" from the Bloody Bucket series back in 1998.  I must have developed a love of equestrian prints of all kinds because of Knight, Death & the Devil.  If you show a person or an animal riding something it immediately reads to the viewer as something regal and powerful.  As far I know, no one has ever been able to figure out for sure what this print means. If you must know you can try and find out HERE.  Basically, the knight either represents courage or some sort of Christian humanism.  It doesnt matter I guess, but it brings out the eternal 13 year old boy in me who loves stuff in armor and battles, and demons.  Most of Durer's work has that effect on me and it did from the first time i saw it when i was actually 13! He's the greatest printmaker of all time.  This is the number 1 print of all time.  I'll fight you over it! For more on Durer's "master suite" check out The National Gallery of Art's website.

Hans Burgkmair- "Death Surprising Two Lovers",1510. This print is one of my all-time favorites. This thing came with various color combos such as green, blue and gray. My favorite is the deep orange variety, which i feel heightens the drama of the subject depicted. One of the scariest damn prints ever made, and when i see this i immediately hear SLAYER'S "Angel of Death" in my head. This would have been a great single or album cover for anything by SLAYER. Burgkmair is thought to be the originator of the toned block technique, or "chiaroscuro" method. He was also a student of the great engraver Martin Schongauer, who was Albrecht Durer's hero. Bad ass technique married with bad ass subject matter. A masterpiece. In my top 10.

A little Detail of SCUDZ to get this thing started!

Welcome.  Time to read and learn something.  More on the way!