(Milan 1852 - 1917)
FANCIULLA SOTTO UN ALBERO, c. 1907
Etching (acquaforte monotipata), a fine impression of the only state, skillfully printed in black ink working on the surface tone with monotypic effects; on thick, white wove paper. Signed LConconi in the film of ink left in the plate in wiping and numbered in the same way pr. N and inscribed 39 in red chalk. Minor abrasions at the margins caused by the silverfish, in very good condition. To the platemark 210 x 325 mm, the entire sheet measuring 297 x 463 mm. See M. Bianchi, G. Ginex, Luigi Conconi incisore, Milan, 1994; cat. no. 52.
To understand the meaning of acquaforte monotipata it is useful to compare the two different impressions of this print which I offer in this update.
Conconi studied architecture at the Accademia di Brera and the Politecnico di Milano. He came into contact with members of the literary and artistic circles of the Scapigliatura – the Italian equivalent of the French Bohème– notably Tranquillo Cremona and Daniele Ranzoni, both of whom influenced his early paintings. In the 1880s Conconi moved from the Realism of Scapigliatura toward Symbolism. The awards he received in Paris in 1900 and Munich in 1913 led to his international recognition.
Conconi, who personally saw to the production of virtually all his plates, was the leading exponent in Lombardy of Acquaforte monotipata. This technique involved the artist drawing directly onto the ink covering the plate, prior to pulling the impression. In this way each resultant print has different characteristics.
