Veronica 1948

Ana Rosa de Ycaza made this print called Veronica. I imagine her layering the blacks to construct the shapes and grounds, perhaps experimenting with the levels of opacity. It must have been interesting to see how the forms emerged. There's a dance here between solid forms and ambiguous space. I can imagine Ycaza moving the tools around the surface, responding to the emerging composition. Those dark, jagged strokes at the bottom, almost claw-like, they really dig into the negative space, don’t they? They remind me of the way Goya used aquatint, that sense of drama and the unknown. Ultimately, painting is a form of expression that embraces uncertainty. We're all looking at the same artwork, but experiencing it differently. It's not about a fixed meaning, but about a journey of seeing and feeling.