Pope Innocent X 1903

This is an image of Pope Innocent X, made with engraving by Timothy Cole. Look how the blacks and whites create the form. The real magic here lies in the detail, the way Cole coaxes a range of tones from a stark palette. The texture of the pope's robes seems to shift and shimmer before your eyes, created by hundreds of tiny lines. It's almost like he's not just depicting fabric, but light itself. And look at the pope's face – the slight furrow of his brow, the glint in his eye. It's a masterclass in suggestion, a lesson in how much can be conveyed with so little. It reminds me a bit of Whistler's etchings, that same dedication to capturing a mood, an atmosphere, with an economy of means. It makes you think about the way artists are in conversation across time.