Quai Henry VI (Dieppe, Quai Henri IV) 1915

Walter Richard Sickert made this print, of Quai Henry VI, using etching, and you can tell he's thinking about the process all the way through. It’s all about the surface; the way the ink sits on the paper. See how the lines are scratchy and uneven? It’s like he’s digging into the plate, trying to find the image. He’s not trying to hide the way it’s made, but to celebrate it. The light and shadow, especially around the figure’s face and hands, is built up with these tiny, nervous lines. There’s something kind of vulnerable about it, like he’s not quite sure what he’s seeing, or what he’s doing. I am reminded of Whistler here, in the subject, but there is a raw intimacy to Sickert’s process, he isn't afraid of a little ugliness, a little awkwardness; he embraces art as a conversation, an exploration, not a finished statement.