Grotesque Printmaking By Jerry Di Falco

Year:

Medium:

Etching Print

Size - (USA):

8 W x 10 H x 1 D (inches)

Size - (metric):

20.3 W x 25.4 H x 2.5 D (centimeters)

Theme:

Architecture

Edition:

Original

Artwork ID:

630706

PDF Copy:

Artwork Info Sheet (PDF)

Artwork Description:

The intimate size of this etching by Di Falco projects a rather imposing mood. The etching, inspired by a photo that the artist shot in 1987, was based on two of his own pencil drawings. This specific print is from the FIRSTR Edition of Four, and each edition is limited to only five etchings. The zinc plate size is about four inches high by three inches widethe print size is about ten by eight inches. The work includes an archival mat in a frame that measures twelve by nine inches. Media includes RivesBFK white paper and a special four-color-blend of Charbonnel brand etching inkoil base. The artist hand printed the work on a Charles Brand press at The Center for Works on Paper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which is a part of Fleisher Art Memorial’s OPEN STUDIO IN PRINTMAKING. This is a non-structured printing course for professional artists, and Di Falco mentors the artists and also acts as a studio-monitor. Fleisher is associated with The Philadelphia Museum of Art. The zinc plate was etched in four baths of Nitric acid, and Di Falco employed the studio techniques of intaglio, aquatint, and drypoint. The work illustrates a grotesque from St. Mary Magdalene Church in Domont, France. This architectural element is from the building’s interior and is located in the navenorth triforium corbel. The face is reminiscent of the adadge, “See No Evil”, and was carved in the 12th Century. The building’s style, which is primitive Gothic, is rare in this section of France. After its completion, the church had modest revisions, but its decay from the middle of the eighteenth century caused its closure as a place of worship in 1785, when it was almost demolished. Only the lack of funding in Frances post revolutionary period prevented this, and restoration occurred between 1844 and 1857.

Artwork Keywords:   France, Church, Architecture, Intaglio, Aquatint, Original Printmaking

Materials:   Etching Prints