Woman in a Net 1934

Stanley William Hayter made this etching, ‘Woman in a Net’, at some point in his career, using a metal plate and acid. It’s a monochromatic image, a tight composition of flowing and angular lines, as though Hayter began with a rough sketch and then embraced the accidental beauty of the etched line. I love the way Hayter uses texture here. Look closely and you’ll see a web of tiny, erratic lines filling the background. Then there are those thicker, bolder lines that define the “woman” and her “net”. They almost seem to float above the surface, catching the light. The stark contrast creates a sense of depth and movement, the image shimmers before your eyes. Note, especially, the hatched lines which create a triangular shadow, the area of deepest tone in the image, and how this pulls your eye into the composition. Hayter was a master printmaker who influenced many artists, but this work puts me in mind of Picasso's cubist portraits, with their fractured perspectives and the way they challenge our perception of form. Both artists invite us to see the world in a new and dynamic way.