Angled Beauty 1918

Arthur Bowen Davies made this print, Angled Beauty, using soft ground etching to create a scene of nudes in nature. Look at the swirling marks above the figures; it feels like a veil or mist. What if Davies applied the soft ground to the plate, then used his fingers to draw into it? I feel like I can enter the artist’s mind here, imagining him thinking about the materiality of the plate as he creates his figures. The etched lines are so sensual and suggestive. This image has an overall ethereal quality to it, reminiscent of other artists such as Odilon Redon. I love the way that artists are in conversation with each other, across time, and it makes me wonder how these artworks came to be. It’s this process of thinking, feeling, and making that can open up a space of imagination for all of us.