1184 - Gisela Kohl, “Odysseus”, rocky coast with sailing boat and rams, escape from the Cyclops’ cave

Gisela Kohl, “Odysseus”, rocky coast with sailing boat and rams, escape from the Cyclops’ cave (born 1943). Etching on paper, signed in pencil at the lower sheet edge at right “G. Kohl”, titled at left “Odysseus.”. Rocky steep coast, at left a gnarled tree above rugged rocks, at right the open sea with a sailing boat and drifting clouds, in the foreground between the rocks a nude male figure carrying a ram on his back, further rams at left and right. The motif depicts the escape of Odysseus from the cave of the Cyclops as told in the ninth book of the Odyssey. Age-appropriate condition, slightly foxed, image slightly cockled from printing, margins water-stained, torn and creased. Image 19.5x25.5 cm (HxW), sheet 49x37.5 cm (HxW). Etching is an intaglio process: the drawing is scratched with a needle into the etching ground of a metal plate, the exposed lines are deepened in acid, then filled with ink and printed onto dampened paper under high press pressure. The pressure leaves the plate mark in the paper that is characteristic of the technique. Unlike in engraving, the needle can be handled freely like a pencil, which gives etching its draughtsmanlike, lively line.