Zwaan (vignet) 1987

Kees Stoop made this print called Zwaan, or Swan, using etching, sometime in the 20th century. I love the way Stoop’s marks are so present, you can really see the process. Look closely, and you can trace the texture of the plate in the dark shadowy background. The image is like a little world, framed by these swirling baroque forms, a black pool surrounding the white swan. The swan itself is so simply drawn, almost like a child’s drawing, but there’s also a sophistication to its form, a kind of knowingness in its eye. The texture of the etching gives the swan a mottled, almost bruised appearance. The lines that describe its feathers are so repetitive, they become almost abstract. This reminds me a bit of some of the prints of M. C. Escher, but much more raw, more immediate. Stoop is less concerned with perfection and more interested in the poetry of the accidental mark. It’s a piece that invites you to slow down, to look closely, and to appreciate the beauty in the imperfect.