Maltese Girl 1909

Albert Belleroche made this print, Maltese Girl, and boy, can you see the artist working, wrestling with the plate? There's a real materiality to this piece. Look at the way the dark ink sits on the paper, it's almost like velvet. The marks are so varied, some light and feathery, others dense and forceful, creating a rich tonal range. Notice the lines around the girl’s face, so delicate they almost disappear, and how this contrasts with the deep shadows of the hood. It’s like Belleroche is searching for the form, feeling it out, rather than just describing it. The way he renders the fabric, with these swirling, energetic lines reminds me of some of Käthe Kollwitz's prints, that same raw, emotional intensity, that same love of the drawn line. And just as in Kollwitz’s work, meaning is found in the process, the way he works is the thing that makes the piece so powerful.