Edö 1907

Anders Zorn made this etching, Edö, with ink on paper. I imagine him working directly on the plate. I wonder about the kind of seeing that comes from etching. You have to imagine all the tones in reverse, right? So maybe it’s not about light as we know it. Maybe it’s about feeling and memory. There’s a kind of quiet to the image. You know, like the quiet of a nude, standing alone outside. The figure’s got this really subtle, but solid stance on the rock. And the rock itself, it’s like a gesture! A big diagonal slash. I'm interested in how he suggests this diagonal with all these tiny little marks. Makes me think of how painters like Manet used the etching process to make paintings. But that's how it is, isn't it? Artists are always talking to each other, stealing from each other, and keeping the conversation going across time.