Conconi, The wave

Luigi Conconi, The wave, etching and monotype, 1896

Architect, painter, printmaker, draftsman, a man of many interests and a great friend of Luca Beltrami, Luigi Conconi created prints that were characterized by an amalgam of printing and painting. In this work too, the artist enhances the etching with the addition of monotyping, applying the ink on the etching plate with his fingers, as testified to by the traces of fingerprints. With this pictorial process the artist dilutes black and white in shades of grey creating a sensual composition.
The scene appears in a similar composition, a watercolour painted by the artist in 1896, with slight modifications. Conconi signs the work with a crescent moon in place of the first initial of his surname, as seen in the lower right corner.