Portrait of a Lady 1910

Timothy Cole’s ‘Portrait of a Lady’ is an engraving rendered in blacks, whites and greys. Look how he coaxes light and shadow out of a dark medium! I think of him, bent over his tools, coaxing this image out, line by painstaking line. He must have felt a kinship with that lady, Aman Jean, Muse of Arts Decoratifs, Paris. She’s so pensive, elbow on the chair back, cheek resting on her hand, her gaze both direct and distant. She seems to be asking, “What does it mean to be seen?”. The softness of her dress contrasts with the wallpaper, and it makes me wonder, who was she? What was she dreaming about? I see echoes of Whistler in the composition, and perhaps a nod to the Symbolists too. But really, Cole is in conversation with all artists who seek to capture not just likeness, but something deeper—a feeling, an essence, a question.