Beauty's Fortune - by Lindsay

Norman Alfred William Lindsay was a very talented artist who lived from February 22, 1879 to November 21, 1969. His work ranged from profiles, to sculpting, writing, cartooning, and scale modeling. Lindsay is to this day seen as one of Australia’s most talented artists due to his abilities to use many different techniques and not specializing in one particular medium. Much of Lindsay’s work was seen as controversial because he used nudity and a type of overt frankness in his works which were banned in some cases due to censorship laws. Lindsay’s work is very captivating through its elaborate detail.

Lindsay has many different etchings that he created through out his life. However, there are only a set number of prints created from each plate; each one certified by a stamp to prove it is an original print. The print that caught my attention is called “Beauty’s Fortune.” The majority of Lindsay’s prints are of nude women. In this etching, there are five beautiful women with an aged, not as lovely women sitting at their feet. Not knowing a great deal about this etching, I would assume that the artist is trying to portray the desire that women have who feel they have lost their beauty with age through the sitting woman and the unpublicized notion that women of beauty have more power. The seated position that the older woman is in looks like that of someone who is submissive or of lesser power. However, after closer inspection of the etching, it looks as if there are cards in front of the woman sitting on the floor and the other women seem interested in what she is doing.

The etching is very well done which is obvious for many reasons. One aspect of the etching that stood out to me was that the “beautiful” women were all lighter tones and pressed forward from the darker background. The woman sitting on the ground, however, has a much darker tone, making her skin look wrinkled and aged. Her hair is lighter, portraying that she is older with white or grey hair. The bright tone on the other women make their skin look flawless and tight, a clear sign of youthfulness.

As for the background, it is difficult to tell what it is. It looks similar to a globe of some sort. Or it may be wallpaper or a reflective window. The darkness of the etching makes the room look overall dimly lighted, again making the “beautiful” women stand out.

I really like this etching as a whole. I feel that the tones allow the image to look more realistic than something that has a flat tone. The contrast of lights and darks captures the viewers attention. I believe that Lindsay got his point across, even though the way I interpret the etching may not have been what he was going for exactly. The etching leaves room for interpretation which I believe is important in artwork.

The Party Animal

I stumbled upon John Dawson's work while simply "Googling" different types of intaglio etchings. I noticed that some of his etchings were quiet detailed, while others carried a simple image but a strong impression was made on the viewer. Dawson actually attended Northen Illinois University where he obtained a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts and then went on to further his education. Another thing that caught my attention was that he specializes in "works of fine art which are personal, perceptive, and psychological." Most of his works consist of people and are etched onto zinc plates and then printed individually onto paper.

The image shown here is entitled "The Party Animal." This is the first image in the series "Hobby Horse Men" that caught my eye. I feel that Dawson capture the expression on the woman's face with using only suggestive lines for her eye that would be visible. He also uses limited areas of shading, still allowing the woman to look realistic in a way. I believe the best part of this print is the drastic contrast in darks and lights. Dawson truly makes your eye move around the page to examine the dark and light shadows that exist on and around the woman.

I also enjoy the way Dawson made the dress look so realistic. It is obvious that this woman is wearing an elegant, expensive dress with a great deal of material. Again, the contrast of lights and darks, along with the overall preciseness of the lines make the shall or scarf look crumpled up around the woman's arms. However, Dawson also uses shape, edgy lines. This could be due to the image he is portraying or the type of work that this is. The stiff lines almost give the woman a sort-of stiff look overall while she holds her nose up in the air as if that is the way she is feeling.

The part of this work that I like the least I would have to say is the background. Although the technique looks interesting, I do not feel that it suits this woman. It almost feels like she is this elegant woman who loves to go out and enjoy herself, while she seems to be in a dreary, dungeon-like background. However, this may be the feel that the artist was going for so if it is the message he is trying to send, the background works.

Overall, I enjoy this work and feel that it is very well done. I think that the print is very clean-cut and percise. This is the same for the other works of Dawson. None of his works are extrememly detailed, but they are very well done. The all encompass a great deal of contrast with shadows and shading which make the images pop out at you.