(Milan 1852 - 1917)
LO SCORPIONE (Frontespizio), 1884
Etching, 1884; a fine impression of the only state, richly and skillfully printed, working on the surface tone with monotypic effects, on thick and soft wove paper. Signed LConconi and titled ACQUEFORTI in the film of ink left in the plate in wiping. With wide margins, in very good condition. To the platemark 263 x 171 mm, the entire sheet measuring 650 x 450 mm. See M. Bianchi, G. Ginex, Luigi Conconi incisore, Milan, 1994; cat. no. 20. As remarked by Bianchi and Ginex the etching has been conceived by Conconi as one of two possible covers to the collection of his etchings he was planning to publish, but which never saw the light.
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.
