Returned Emigrant 1907

Francis Dodd made this print, 'Returned Emigrant', with etching, a process of mark-making that feels both precise and intuitive. It's all about process; you lay down lines, then they become something else, a kind of controlled accident. Look closely at the hat; it’s a mass of tiny, dark lines, built up layer by layer. It reminds me of doing cross-hatching, where you’re trying to describe volume and shadow with nothing but a web of lines. See how those lines become softer, looser, as they move down his shirt? It’s like Dodd is letting the image breathe, giving it space to exist. The way the light catches his face, the slight droop of his eyes... it’s all so human, so real. Dodd reminds me of Käthe Kollwitz, another artist who used printmaking to capture the raw, unfiltered truth of human experience. It's a reminder that art isn't about perfection, it's about honesty.