Lord Beatty, Admiral of the Fleet 1922

This plate by Walter Tittle shows Lord Beatty, Admiral of the Fleet, rendered in a dance of light and shadow. The etching feels precise, yet there's a looseness, especially in the way the lines sketch out Beatty's form. I imagine Tittle, hunched over his plate, coaxing the needle to life, thinking about line weight, how a slight change in pressure can shift a mood, evoke authority or vulnerability. See how the hatch marks around the eyes and mouth suggest the weight of command, of battles fought, of lives led? It's like he’s etching not just a face, but a story onto the metal. I think of other portraitists, from Holbein to Hockney, all grappling with the same task: how to capture a person, their essence, in a series of marks. Ultimately, this etching serves as a reminder of the ongoing conversation between artists across time, each one building upon the work of those who came before, and informing the work of those who will follow. Painting and drawing are a form of embodied expression, embracing ambiguity and inviting multiple interpretations.