Malinconia (Melancholy, or Head of a Woman) before 1913

Luigi Conconi made this etching called *Malinconia,* or *Melancholy*, sometime in the late 19th century. It's all soft browns, and the woman's face emerges from the shadows, a little like a memory. You know, I bet Conconi was trying to capture a feeling more than a likeness. Those gentle lines, that slight blurring – it’s like he's painting with light and shadow to evoke a mood. I imagine him, head down close to the plate, gently coaxing those tones out of the metal. Maybe he was a bit melancholy himself? Or maybe he just wanted to capture that universal feeling we all know so well. I’m thinking, too, about other artists who have worked with etching, like Whistler or Käthe Kollwitz. There's a tenderness, a vulnerability to the medium, that lends itself so well to the expression of emotion. It reminds me that as artists, we're all in conversation with each other, borrowing and building on ideas across time.