Kaketoe 1896 - 1936

Emilius Dehé made this small print, titled 'Kaketoe', with etching. The artist is working in black and white, but it's the etched lines that really bring the form to life. Dehé etches lines with a close, textural mark-making approach. Take a look at how he builds up the image of the cockatoo. The surface is alive with detail, like each little feather is having its own moment. It's almost like he's drawing with a kind of controlled frenzy. I'm interested in the way that some of the etched lines are horizontal, almost like the ground, and contrast with the vertical lines of the trees. The cockatoo seems to be almost dissolving back into the background of trees. Artists like Käthe Kollwitz, who also worked with etching, come to mind when looking at how the medium can be used expressively. This print really shows that art isn't just about capturing a subject, it's about the conversation between process, mark, and feeling.