Madonna and Child 1904

This is a reproduction of a painting by Timothy Cole, made using wood engraving. Now, you might think that a copy is somehow less than the original, but I think there's something special about seeing the world through another artist's eyes. Look at the way Cole has built up the tones, using tiny, careful marks. It's almost like he's weaving the image into being. You can see the concentration in the dark shadows under Mary’s eyes, and in the soft folds of fabric. The light falls gently on the baby’s face, giving him an almost angelic glow. What I find really interesting is how Cole uses the limitations of his medium to create something new. He's not just copying, he's translating. It’s as if Cole is in conversation with the original painting, teasing out new meanings and possibilities. Think about the work of someone like Vija Celmins, who has a similar reverence for process. Ultimately, art is about this kind of ongoing dialogue, isn’t it?