Ben Nicholson (1894 - 1982)

Mixed media on etched ground
21.5 x 39.2 cm
Signed, dated and titled verso

Provenance
Galerie Alice Pauli, Lausanne


“He liked to touch up unsatisfactory proofs, and liked to draw on the reverse carrying the imprint of the copper plate. Among such products, defined by him as «worked on» or «mixed media», there are some cases where the etching serving as point of departure does not exist in this book: These are the plates of which we only pulled trial proofs and which we then destroyed.” Francois Lafranca, Ben Nicholson Les Eaux-Fortes, Francois Lafranca, Ateliers Lafranca, 1983 p.34

Italian Mountain Village, 1966/69, is an exceptional example of a unique work painted on the back of a rejected trial proof. The plate was made in 1966, the year in which Nicholson produced his Tuscan inspired Architectural Suite. It bears a resemblance to the etching Lucca, that made up one of the ten works included in the portfolio. In 1969 Nicholson returned to the image, using the outline of etching indentation as a starting point, before completing the image with pencil, ink and watercolour. It was through this practice that Nicholson created an original blend of the intricate craftsmanship of a master printmaker, with the classical tradition of painting.