Mount for Summer 1897 - 1899

This etching was made by Theodore Roussel, but its date is unknown. It’s a beautiful object, made with painstaking labor. The print is made with etching, where Roussel would have coated a metal plate with wax, drawn an image into it with a sharp needle to reveal the bare metal, and then submerged the plate in acid. The acid bites into the exposed metal creating recessed lines. Ink is then applied into these lines, the surface wiped clean, and the image transferred to paper under high pressure. The final effect is subtle: an elaborate frame of abstract motifs surrounding an empty space in the center. You could see it as a miniature stage set waiting for its players, a kind of theater for the eye. Roussel was deeply interested in the craft of printmaking, and he often made his own inks and papers. In this work, the visual drama isn’t just in the design, but also in the texture, the result of careful handling. This intense materiality elevates the work, urging us to reflect on the nature of seeing itself.