Etruscan Lady 1963

Rudy Pozzatti made this intaglio print, Etruscan Lady, in 1963. It’s a portrait, but it’s more like a landscape of marks, isn’t it? Pozzatti builds up this image with a mass of lines, scratches, and daubs that suggest the form of a woman, kind of like a memory or a fleeting impression. The contrast between the dark background and the bright highlights really pops, giving it a dramatic feel. The texture is so interesting. It looks like he really attacked the plate, digging in with his tools to create these deep, rich lines. It reminds me of Piranesi's etchings of ancient ruins, all that energy, that feeling of something ancient and powerful emerging from the darkness. And look at the way he handles the face – it's both there and not there, like a ghost or an echo of a face. That ambiguity is what keeps me looking. It's as if he's saying that art is not about capturing a likeness, but about the process of seeing itself.