SOULS FLY OVER ARQUES Printmaking By Jerry Di Falco

Year:

Medium:

Etching Print

Size - (USA):

10 W x 11 H x 1 D (inches)

Size - (metric):

25.4 W x 27.9 H x 2.5 D (centimeters)

Theme:

Ethnic

Edition:

10

Artwork ID:

459418

PDF Copy:

Artwork Info Sheet (PDF)

Artwork Description:

SOULS FLY OVER ARQUES UNDER MAGENTA MOON. The etching is adapted from an original black and white photograph I shot in 1987 in Southern France. The area is known for its CATHAR History. This is the SECEND OF THREE Editions. The printmaking techniques employed include intaglio, Chine colle, aquatint, and drypoint. Only three limited editions of ten etchings each exist. All were hand-printed and published by myself. This SECOND edition is executed in violet ink, oil-based, on Stonehenge CREAM paper. The colored moon was achieved via the Chine colle process by integrating a piece of mulberry bark paper from Thailand onto the print. The zinc plate was etched in several Nitric acid baths and measures 5 inches wide by 7 inches high, or 13 cm x 18 cm. The print size is 11 inches high by 10 inches wide, or 28 cm x 26 cm. The mystical area of ARQUES in Southern France is also called Occitania, where Occitan was traditionally the first language spoken. This area was once noted for its Troubadours, Chivalry, Poetry, Ladies, Knights. Moreover, it encompasses such cities like Toulouse, Montpellier, Carcassonne, and Narbonne. This building was once a CATHAR Castle at Arques. The Cathars were a Christian based religious community active in Europe and especially in the area known as Catalonia in the mid 12th century. Cathars believed that God had only created spiritual perfection and eternity, not the material world. . . which they viewed as evil. Many led austere lives as celibate vegetarians. The Cathars clergy were called Perfects. These male and female priests were thought to be masters of alchemy, Christian mysticism, and magic. Their beliefs earned them severe persecution by the Vaticans Pope, the Roman Catholic Church, and the French king in Paris. The Cathars were massacred and burned at the stake, but some claim that sacred scrolls and gold were hidden somewhere in the hills of this area.

Artwork Keywords:   Original Printmaking

Materials:   Etching Prints