12 Rue Jacob 1986

Jim Dine made this print, 12 Rue Jacob, using drypoint, and look at that smoky, velvety black! The beauty of printmaking is how it can create an image that lives somewhere between drawing and photography. It’s all about process, about the artist working the plate to get those deep blacks and soft grays. Here, you can see the marks of the drypoint needle, scratching into the surface. Look at the way Dine builds up the shadows around the figure's face, with layer upon layer of these fine lines. There is a beautiful tension in the image, where the figure emerges from the darkness but never quite resolves into a perfect likeness. Dine’s work often features a kind of raw, emotional honesty that reminds me of artists like Paula Rego, who also used printmaking to explore the darker sides of human experience. It's like he's reminding us that art isn't about perfection; it's about the messy, beautiful process of trying to capture something real.