Dawn on the Valley Road

 

Henri Benedictus Van Raalte

  1881 - 1929 (biography)

c. 1925  

drypoint in brown-black ink 

5 1/2 x 4 13/16" platemark 

pencil, lower right; initialed "HR" in the plate, lower right 

4 of 50  

pencil editioned and dated in lower left as "4/50/05"; pencil titled in lower center 

 

ivory wove 

proof (two known states) 

artist 

4270 

$450.00 

Van Raalte became an etcher at the height of the late 19th and early 20th century’s etching revival. Far from the staid, academic reproductive works that had occupied much of the early 19th century, these artists employed expression and mood to capture what might otherwise seem ordinary.

In this small format drypoint, Van Raalte’s depiction of an Australian valley, seen from a hilltop crowned with a lush, old "tuart" eucalyptus tree, showcases his talent for achieving a dramatic, atmospheric quality from a rigid and unforgiving medium.

From the collection of the Danish writer, critic, and collector, Georg Frederik Brøchner (1847-1933). Brøchner wrote many articles for The Studio and The International Studio.