Italian Bride 1937

Robert Austin made this intaglio print, "Italian Bride," using engraving on a metal plate. The fine lines create a sense of texture, like you could almost feel the folds of the women's dresses. Look at the faces of the women surrounding the bride. There’s a weight to them, a seriousness achieved with such simple, deliberate lines. They remind me of the figures in early Renaissance paintings, all very solemn. The bride, though, has a lightness to her, emphasized by the soft, delicate rendering of her veil. The lilies scattered at her feet add to this sense of ephemeral beauty. It's like a dream, caught in ink, a moment of transition and transformation. This meticulous attention to detail and the classical composition remind me of Albrecht Dürer, who also embraced the graphic arts and looked to the past for inspiration. Ultimately, it’s a reminder that art is always in conversation with itself, drawing from the past to create something new.