Shepherd of Arcadia 1908

Timothy Cole made this small monochromatic engraving, "Shepherd of Arcadia," using a pretty traditional approach to mark-making. Look at the way he builds up tone with these tiny, precise lines! It's all about control and craft, and that's a process I can really respect. There's this real sense of depth and texture despite the limited palette. See how the light catches the figures' drapery, or the subtle gradations in the landscape? The way he renders the human form, with all its subtle curves and contours, is really impressive. I keep coming back to the figure kneeling at the tomb, tracing the inscription. There’s a real sense of weight and solemnity, even in this small scale. It reminds me a little of some of the old masters, like Poussin, who were also interested in these classical themes. But Cole brings his own sensibility to it. For me, it’s a reminder that art is always a conversation across time, a continuous process of reinterpreting and reimagining the world around us.