Toward the Light

Werner Drewes

In Werner Drewes’ intaglio “Toward the Light,” the moon sits like a pearl within a vaporous shell, awaiting discovery. Drewes owed a great deal of credit to his keen design sense, sussing out the heart of his compositions through expertly layered shapes and textures that provided depth, energy, and a satisfying balance. No matter what the size of the matrix, Drewes’ intaglio images show a master at work, as is evident in this abstracted nocturnal scene.

Here, we see a full, bright moon whose face is slightly obscured by thin clouds that are beginning to pull apart - these are carefully crafted with varying levels of pale, textured softground. As the lens of the viewer moves outward, darker, heavier clouds, shaped by fields of aquatint that melt into sharply engraved borders, drape themselves around the edges of the plate as if to unveil the luminescent body within.