Medium: Etching and aquatint
Dimensions: 17 3/8 x 26 1/2 inches
Signature: Signed
Artist details: Italian, 1921 - 2009
Date finished: 1958
Edition: 152/220
Condition: G.G. blindstamp, lower left.

Recommended by Nikki (Fine Print Photographer & Content Publisher):
"Mario Avati’s piece Le Corbus (Raven) seems macabre, but there is a beauty found in sitting with death in this still life. By posing the bird like this, Avati has carefully highlighted the raven and all the interesting facets of its wings, face, body, and feet as the viewer’s eye moves from the top left of the mezzotint to the bottom right, across a clear diagonal. This image is a study of light, texture, and shape - referencing the rich history of Dutch still life paintings. The milky eye of the bird ‘looking’ directly at the viewer also serves as a memento mori, a reminder that death happens to everyone eventually."

Medium: Mezzotint
Dimensions: 5 x 7 1/2 inches
Signature: Signed
Artist details: Japanese, 1954
Date finished: 2010
Edition: of 90
Reference: 298

Recommended by Sunny: 
(Collections Assistant)

Mikio Watanabe's work is extremely delicate and intriguing. The themes are simple, but his execution of form and technique are quite complex. Fossile catches my eye and reminds me of an Italian marble sculpture. The lighting is beautifully balanced between cool and warm tones and the figure's pose is expressive. Both filled with emotion and purpose.

Medium: Mezzotint
Dimensions: 6 x 3 3/4 inches
Signature: Signed
Artist details: Japanese, 1954
Date finished: 2016
Edition: of 90
Reference: 380

Recommended by Emma (Marketing & Communications Manager):
"Mikio Watanabe captures the soft warm glow of summer in this sweet image. Yet over the years in this region the end of summer has become a season of miserable heat and hazy poor air quality. This droopy sunflower perfectly captures how I feel as we settle in to August and the smoke rolls in. The glow is lovely, but I am exhausted and dreaming of cloudy skies and rain."