Dante 1916

This small etching called ‘Dante’, was made by J.A. Jerichau around the turn of the century. It’s a maze of energetic hatching, a technique where closely spaced parallel lines create tone and texture. Look at the way the lines vibrate! See how the density of the hatching both describes form, like the folds of Dante’s robes, and creates this overall sense of movement. Jerichau coaxes a full image from a few simple lines, an alchemic trick if ever there was one. Then there’s the negative space, the blank areas, which are as active as the marks. Consider, for example, the way the light defines Dante’s hands; it’s almost as if he’s conducting an orchestra of shadows. This reminds me of Odilon Redon, another master of the suggestive and the spectral. Both artists conjure worlds that exist just beyond the veil of perception. Ultimately, this is about the mysterious power of suggestion, the magic of art to create something from almost nothing.