Corsicaanse herder 1925

Lodewijk Schelfhout made this etching of a Corsican Shepherd sometime around 1925. You can see the etched lines, so sharp and clear, making up the image in layers, a painstaking process. I’m always fascinated by how artists use marks to create textures and depth, especially in monochrome works like this. Look at the Shepherd’s coat, it’s made up of so many tiny strokes, each one carefully placed to suggest the roughness of the fabric. And then compare that to the flat, smooth areas of his face and hat. I love the contrast between the textures and the way the artist uses light and shadow to create a sense of form. Schelfhout’s work reminds me a bit of the German Expressionist printmakers, like Kathe Kollwitz, who also used etching to explore themes of rural life and the human condition. I think all artmaking is about an ongoing conversation, with artists constantly building on and responding to the work of those who came before.