Homage à Rimbaud (Hommage to Rimbaud) 1961

Max Ernst created this print, "Homage to Rimbaud," using etching, a classic printmaking technique, and one of the more labor-intensive forms of image production. The artist would have protected a metal plate with a waxy ground, then drawn through the ground with a sharp needle to expose the metal. Immersed in acid, the exposed lines would be bitten, leaving behind an intaglio image. The matrix is then inked and wiped clean, leaving ink only in the etched recesses. The plate is then pressed onto paper with great force, transferring the image. The resulting visual texture is unique to the etching process: a slightly raised surface, with rich blacks and grays. In this case, the labor is all the more poignant, given Ernst’s dedication to automatism: a technique meant to unleash unconscious creativity. The contrast reminds us that even the most free-associative gestures are grounded in material practice.