Archway, Brussels |  Art Institute of Chicago (1938.1867) | |
| Number: | 344 | |
| Date: | 1887 | |
| Medium: | etching | |
| Size: | 127 x 217 mm | |
| Signed: | butterfly at left | |
| Inscribed: | no | |
| Set/Publication: | no | |
| No. of States: | 1 | |
| Known impressions: | 6 | |
| Catalogues: | K.366; M.361 | |
| Impressions taken from this plate (6) | ||
TECHNIQUE
Archway, Brussels, is pure etching. The figures were drawn lightly with expressive broken curved and crooked lines, short wriggly lines, dots and dashes. The shop and archway were drawn with longer broken lines - sometimes with big gaps in the outlines - and etched more deeply. A lot of speckles from foul biting cover the plate, giving it a dusty texture. The close cross-hatching in the window and door add richness to the shadows of the interior, and may have been rubbed down slightly to soften the lines.
PRINTING
Two impressions of Archway, Brussels were printed in dark brown ink, one on cream laid paper with a large watermark of two lions either side of a shield, crowned (), and the other on thin off-white 'antique' (pre-1800) paper (). Others are in black ink, on a cream - almost tan - laid 'PRO PATRIA' watermarked paper (), on cream Japanese paper (), on cream laid paper with the watermark of a crown over 'GR' () and finally on ivory laid paper with a partial countermark, probably 'DHK' ().