(Milan 1852 - 1917)
PORTRAIT OF LUCA BELTRAMI, 1884
Etching, 1884; a fine impression of the only state, richly and skillfully printed with black ink working on the surface tone, on thick white wove paper. Signed and dated in the plate LConconi 84, signed LConconi in the film of ink left on the plate in wiping. Large margins, fine condition. To the platemark 78 x 160, then entire sheet measuring 296 x 463.
See M. Bianchi, G. Ginex, Luigi Conconi incisore, Milan, 1994; cat. no. 15.
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.
