Citadel

Melvin Frank Silverman

Mel Silverman, who passed away at age 35, did this two color woodcut for publication by Associated American Artists (AAA) in 1962. The AAA raisonné number is 1429.

A striking fortress winds its way up a steep hillside, overlooking the city that it protects in the valley below. Using only olive and black ink, Melvin Frank Silverman utilizes negative space to detail the dwellings and bridges of the city and the rays of a bright sun, a technique he became known for. His choice of a long, rectangular format lends a sense of formidability to the citadel.

In his brief life, artist Melvin Frank Siverman often found inspiration in the layouts of ancient cities that he observed on his year-long travels in Europe on scholarship; this would carry over into his interpretations of towns and cities in the U.S., including Martha’s Vineyard and New York. To fully realize the feeling of a particular city, he often chose matrices that were unusual in shape - circular, or long and thin - to capture its sense of place. “Citadel” is an example of the influential mid-century printmaker’s stamp on the American art scene.