Uitgebloeide zonnebloemen c. 1972 - 1975

Kees Stoop made this intaglio print, ‘Uitgebloeide zonnebloemen’ - or ‘Wilted Sunflowers’ in English - with etching and drypoint techniques. It’s all about mark-making, a kind of obsessive, loving attention to detail that suggests a real investment in process. Look closely and you see how Stoop relishes the potential of black ink on white paper! There’s a fascinating contrast between the density of the sunflowers and the bareness of the background. The textures achieved are incredible: the stippled effect on the petals, the cross-hatched shading that gives form to the stems. This almost architectural quality makes the sunflowers look like ruins; monuments to their former selves! I love the way Stoop uses the drypoint needle to create these velvety, almost furry textures. It's kind of gorgeous. There's a kinship here to the botanical studies of someone like Karl Blossfeldt, who looked at plants with such intense concentration that they took on an almost abstract quality. But Stoop’s image seems less clinical, more elegiac. It’s a meditation on time, loss, and the beauty of decay.