Dead Birds
Barbara Elisabeth van Houten (1862 - 1950), c. 1880-1893
etching and drypoint on paper, 50.2 cm x 65.2 cm
Credits: The Mesdag Collection, The Hague
What is impressive is the deep black that Van Houten was able to achieve in her etchings—not ‘dead black but a living darkness’, wrote an art critic in 1923. Even in the darkest areas, the individual black lines remain visible, like tangible threads resting on the paper. At times, she ventured beyond the limits of the material, creating paler areas of light, as on the right wing of the large bird.
- Object number
- hwm0149
- Edition
- 1e staat
- Dimensions
- 50.2 cm x 65.2 cm, 36 cm x 47.5 cm, 36 cm x 47.5 cm
- printmaker
- Barbara Elisabeth van Houten
- Credits
- The Mesdag Collection, The Hague
Bodt, Saskia de, Leeman, Fred, Leeuw, Ronald de, Pennock, Hanna, Museum Mesdag : catalogue of paintings and drawings, Zwolle, 1996, p. 228
Knuttel, G., Barbara van Houten, Amsterdam, 1948, p. 53, fig. 57