The Old Covenanter 1910

Francis Dodd’s etching, “The Old Covenanter,” is all about line and tone, isn't it? I can imagine Dodd hunched over a copper plate, meticulously dragging a needle across its surface, building up a delicate network of lines that define the sitter’s features and clothing. Look at how the light catches the side of his nose and the glint in his eye. I wonder if the sitter was chatty. Dodd’s use of hatching and cross-hatching creates a sense of depth and volume. His hand must have been so precise, so controlled. It’s a very studied image, and reminds me of Lucian Freud, with the sitter firmly in the foreground, cropped to fill the frame. It's like Dodd is saying, "Here is this man, look at him." Etching is a conversation, just as painting is. Dodd and Freud, with their searching line, all inspire each other's creativity, don't they? We are always in dialogue with the past.