After Courbet

March 15, 2006

Copperplate Monotype

6"x9"

While reading Kenneth Clark's Landscape into Art I saw this old reproduction of a Courbet painting and was struck by how much it reminded me of my own work with recent monotypes. So I decided to make a copy as it has been a long time since I study a master's work.

Considering the difficulty I had working ink on a copperplate a couple of weeks ago it was a bold decision to start with the Courbet copy. In the end it was a great decision as I really worked with the large masses of black and was very thoughtful about how the ink moved on the copper.

Most importantly I had fun, made some changes and the image became my own.