In the Space by Alessandro Mastro-Valerio

In the Space by Alessandro Mastro-Valerio

In the Space

Alessandro Mastro-Valerio

Title

In the Space

 
Artist
Year
1944  
Technique
woodengraving 
Image Size
5 15/16 x 7 9/16" image size 
Signature
pencil, lower right 
Edition Size
unnumbered, from an edition of 200 
Annotations
 
Reference
print #26 from the Presentation Prints of the Woodcut Society; Library of Congress 5 
Paper
slick, antique-white wove 
State
published 
Publisher
The Woodcut Society, Alexandria, VA 
Inventory ID
CKCS114 
Price
SOLD
Description

A recumbent woman, her figure curled within a shell-like curve of fabric, is seen from above in an unusual but starkly elegant woodengraving by Alessandro Mastro-Valerio. The female figure was a common theme in his work, and within that genre his impressions in woodcut remain among his most powerful, shelving what could easily have become another study in erotica to make way for a more emotional, contemplative element executed in sculptural monochrome. Here, his subject appears to be sleeping, or perhaps simply contemplating, as she lies in a cocoon of solitude. He has chosen a predominantly black palette, lending a feeling of nocturnal peace, or of floating in space, to the composition.