Visitekaartje van prenthandelaar Edmond Gosselin te Parijs 1907

This visiting card for the print dealer Edmond Gosselin in Paris, from around 1900, is a fascinating exercise in detail using a minimal palette. Look at the texture, it's so fine, and yet you can feel the weight of the cherubs holding the banner. I find myself wondering about the physicality of the medium here, the thinness of the lines and the way they build up to create form. There is such precision, I feel like I could see the hairs on the engraver’s brush! This makes me think about the nature of art as conversation, and a constant referral to the past. I’m reminded of Manet, who was fascinated by the Old Masters, yet he always found a way to make it modern. This card has a foot in both camps, classical imagery but with a modern purpose. A beautiful balance.