Orosz Templomtornyok (Russian Church Towers) 1946

Jolán Gross-Bettelheim made this print, Russian Church Towers, using etching, a process that’s all about controlled mark-making. It’s a dance between intention and accident. Looking closely, you can almost feel the scratch of the needle across the plate. It’s all about tonal variation, with layers of line creating areas of shadow and depth. The ink catches in the etched lines, giving the print a velvety texture. See the way the artist renders the onion domes, they’re not just shapes, they’re built up from these tiny, energetic marks. The cross-hatching gives the impression of form and light. It's an architecture of lines and shadows. I can see echoes of German Expressionist printmaking, like Beckmann, in the intense, graphic quality. There's also something of the utopian vision of early constructivism, in its exploration of architectural form. Ultimately, it's a testament to the power of printmaking, the way a simple line can evoke so much.