A Girl's Head - E Possibly 1919

Editor: So here we have Augustus John's etching, "A Girl's Head - E," likely from 1919. There's a wonderful, almost melancholy feel to it, and you can see how the etching really brings out the details in the subject's curly hair. What strikes you most about this piece? Curator: The intimacy, I think. The scratch of the etching needle feels like a whispered secret, doesn’t it? You’re drawn in by her gaze, yet she's somehow distant. I wonder what she’s thinking…Perhaps reflecting on the changing world after the Great War? This was a time of huge social upheaval and change for women. What do you make of the rather frenetic background lines? Editor: That's a great point about the post-war period. I hadn't really connected that to her expression. As for the background, I find the lines a little distracting, but also somehow, very fitting - it mirrors her perhaps complicated inner life. Almost as if what is on the interior is trying to break out. Curator: Yes, and perhaps John felt it important to show that inner life. To me, that hectic hatching breathes so much dynamism into what could have been just another formal portrait. Are we seeing the artist’s inner landscape projected, or the subject’s? Maybe a little of both, entwined…which is what art is about. Editor: That’s beautiful – this idea of intertwined inner landscapes. I initially saw a sad portrait, but now I'm also appreciating this energetic tension, this complexity of emotion. Curator: Exactly! Art isn't always about pretty pictures. It's about sparking a dialogue, a feeling, a question in you…even a little discomfort. And isn’t it delightful when a piece keeps revealing new layers the more you look?