The Sniper, No.2 1920

James McBey etched "The Sniper, No. 2" with incredible detail, probably in his studio but maybe even en plein air. I can almost feel the weight of that helmet, pressing down, the stillness of holding your breath, the tension before a shot. The sniper is almost camouflaged into the wheat-colored landscape, just like the thin dark lines blend together to create the overall image. I wonder if McBey served during wartime, and whether this is a study of a real person. I see the sniper as both a symbol and an individual, anonymous but specific. Artists like to play with the push and pull of those opposites; the universal and the particular. Artists are always in dialogue with each other, so I like to think about how McBey's work might relate to other artists and how he was inspired by them. He might have looked at Goya’s war etchings, or maybe even Manet’s sketches. It's like we are all trying to grasp the complexity of being human.