Leon Kossoff

Summary

This print is one of many etchings executed by Leon Kossoff in response to, and literally in the presence of, oil paintings by old masters; in this case The Testament of Eudamidas, circa 1645-50 (Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen), by Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665). Tate owns two prints by Kossoff after this Poussin painting (P11728-9). The artist’s ability to explore a number of separate responses while making drawings and prints from a single subject is illustrated in these etchings. This print was published in an edition of twenty with ten artist’s proofs; Tate owns the third artist’s proof.

The subject of the painting is taken from Toxaris, (friendship), a classical story by the Greek writer Lucian. On his deathbed the poor but noble Eudamidas leaves the care of his mother and daughter (to the left of Kossoff’s print) in the hands of his two nearest friends, who accept the responsibility without demur. The moral of the story is rooted in the classical philosophy of stoicism and posits that a true friend will always take on necessary obligations even at the cost of their own material interests.

The Poussin painting is dark and sombre, with occasional highlights coming from the window to the left of the composition. In Poussin’s representation of Lucian’s narrative the dying man dictates his wishes as a doctor counts his last heartbeats. The mother and daughter sit sorrowfully at the end of Eudamidas’ deathbed. Kossoff’s response to this painting is rendered in spare, curving lines. The plate has been left lightly inked and selectively wiped to highlight certain areas of the composition: the figures, the sink on one wall and two windows. The space surrounding the figures is carved out in a combination of hatching and cross-hatching, with drypoint being added to strengthen certain contours, along with repeated strokes to darken the shadows. Aquatint has been used to animate and to bring depth to the composition. A consequence of the printing process is that the image is a reverse of Poussin’s original. Kossoff’s print does not compete with Poussin’s painting, nor does it seek to transcribe, copy or paraphrase it. Rather, it acknowledges the gulf that separates it from the pictorial culture of former times and reveals Kossoff’s desire to find points of contact with Poussin. Kossoff has described the value of this kind of draughtsmanship as a means to building up an acquaintance with the subject of a picture made by another artist until he feels free to ‘move about in its imaginative spaces’ (Kendall, p.19).

Kossoff has described the moment of intense elation, which occurred some forty years ago, when he first established a vital connection with Poussin’s art. As a youth and then as a student in London, he had become familiar with the rich historical collections of the National Gallery. On one particular day there he had a transformative experience while looking at Poussin’s Cephalus and Aurora, 1629-30 (National Gallery, London):

It seemed as though I was experiencing the work for the first time. I suppose there is a difference between looking and experiencing. Paintings of this quality, in which the subject is endlessly glowing with luminosity, can, in an unexpected moment, surprise the viewer, revealing unexplored areas of self.

(Kendall, p.19)

The recent prints made by Kossoff after paintings by Poussin therefore emerge from almost half a century of involvement in the older artist’s oeuvre, initially stimulated by this moment of insight at the National Gallery but more immediately by the 1995 retrospective exhibition, Nicolas Poussin 1594-1665, at the Royal Academy of Arts, London.

The etching plates were prepared by Ann Dowker, a London artist who later collaborated with Kossoff on biting the plates with acid, wiping them before printing, and making trial proofs. In some cases, areas of the etchings were washed with aquatint; in others, lines were emphasised by drypoint. The etchings were printed by Mark Balakjian at Studio Prints, London.

Further reading:
Richard Kendall, Drawn to Painting, London 2000, p.37, reproduced p.79 in colour
Paul Moorhouse, Leon Kossoff, exhibition catalogue, Tate Gallery, London 1996, pp.27-30
Leon Kossoff: Recent Paintings, exhibition catalogue, British Council, Venice 1995

Anna Bright
October 2005

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