Pursuit 1880 - 1929

Ernst Oppler made this etching, Pursuit, and who knows what kind of chase he was on. Look at the flurry of marks that make up the woman’s dress. You can see the plate marks around the image. I just want to know, how does he get the image to come off the plate and onto the paper? I imagine Oppler hunched over a table, the acid biting into the metal, the smell sharp in his nostrils. Then the inking, wiping, the careful placement on the press, the satisfying crank of the wheel. That dress! It looks like a field of scribbled energy, maybe even a bit anxious. The whole thing feels like it's about to take off—a gust of wind, a whispered secret, anything could set it in motion. I love the ambiguity and that sense of a world in constant flux. It's a good reminder that painting, like life, is a process, a conversation. We keep adding our voices, inspired by those who came before, to this beautiful, messy, ongoing exchange.