Kop van de eenhoorn van een antiek standbeeld before 1914

Here's Thiebautz's etching of a Unicorn's Head, made with light and dark strokes of brown ink. Can you imagine Thiebautz hunched over a metal plate, scratching away with a sharp tool? It’s all about contrast here, how light hits the smooth stone of the sculpture and casts deep shadows, giving it shape and form. I feel for him, trying to capture the solid three-dimensional form in two dimensions. The patient and meditative work of mark-making, trying to find form. Imagine him thinking "How do I capture the curve of the neck or the soft modelling of the cheek?". Each line feels like a search, a question asked in ink. And then, the final print, a ghostly echo of the original, yet full of life. I am reminded of other artists throughout time who grapple with the same challenges and themes, like Da Vinci and his studies of horses. It shows how art is about conversations across time, each artist building on the work of those who came before.