The Hair-Ribbon 1912

Curator: This etching from 1912, created by Anders Zorn, is titled "The Hair-Ribbon". Editor: The piece seems a bit stark, almost unfinished, with all the hatching and crosshatching used to create its shading and tonality. Curator: As a print, its material existence stems directly from the metal plate, the acid, the press—the tangible elements. Each line represents the labor, a deliberate act of inscribing, quite unlike painting where gestures can be concealed, perhaps even more so when the scene depicted is a nude one. Editor: Speaking of which, her pose has a classical air, don't you think? She's seated, somewhat contemplative, the dark hair-ribbon acting as a framing device. There's a tension in the composition. Curator: Yes, the interplay of light and shadow draws the eye immediately, specifically in this piece as the dark backdrop suggests an undefined and somber domestic space, one created via many marks. Editor: I'm wondering what exactly the woman in the portrait is looking at, considering the gaze isn't directed at the viewer but turned instead to the side—we see only a fragment of her environment and life as a whole. It evokes questions about female labor as it occurs behind closed doors. Curator: Agreed, and Zorn's technical skill highlights form with an almost sculptural presence despite the relatively flat character of the etching process itself. The marks perform as much as they record the world before his eyes. The subject seems caught at a turning point, self-contained and absorbed within her individual reality, despite what might await her outside. Editor: Thinking about how an image such as this circulated historically as a kind of readily available printed matter feels radical given the current setting within the context of a museum collection, however fine the artistic skills are displayed throughout. Curator: Precisely. This detailed observation reveals a world rich in social nuance and layered meanings and implications about the female form. Editor: An apt conclusion to considering the implications behind the printmaker's means of representing labor and life at once, while raising important considerations around viewing today.