Andree D. - from the portfolio Criminelles (24 portraits of French murderesses)

Mariette Lydis

This etching, "Andree D". is from a portfolio Lydis did of 24 French murderesses. Lydis imagined them, taken from newspaper accounts of their deeds. She had the subject's name printed on newsprint with a description of her murder, simulating the text as it had appeared in the Parisian newspapers.

The text for this etching reads "Andrée D....16 ans, tue une amie du meme age en lui defoncant le crane avec un pierre et la jette dans un etang." (Andrée D....16 years old, kills a friend of the same age by smashing her skull with a stone and throwing her into a pond.)

Lydis used an economy of line to capture the essence of her subjects, adding some roulette around the hair. She left a thin layer of ink on the plate to add a gray tone to the composition.