Ex libris van A.E.K. 1957

This is Hendrik Keuterickx's bookplate, 'Ex libris van A.E.K', made at an unknown date using printmaking techniques. I love the controlled chaos of printmaking; it's all about the process of carving and inking, a dance between intention and accident. Here, the stark black lines carve out a world of classical figures and heraldic symbols. The contrast between light and shadow gives the image a dramatic weight, a sense of history etched onto the page. Take a look at the way the lines thicken and thin to define the figures, a real testament to the artist's skill. I wonder what the relationship was between the artist and A.E.K, the commissioner of this piece? There's something about the way the figures support the central crest that reminds me of William Blake's illustrations, that same sense of the epic contained in miniature. Of course, printmaking is all about repetition and variation. It's never the same result twice, which is a bit like life.