Memo-2539

Type:

Bach Etching

Title:

Etchings on J.S. Bach The Well-Tempered Clavier (BWV 858-868): Prelude XIII (BWV 858) F# Major

Description:

Elizabeth Harington presents a Major Art & Music Portfolio 24 Colored Etchings on the Interpretations of J.S. Bach's music.
On January 25, 1997, Elizabeth Harington released the most extraordinary eight year achievement in the field of Fine Art etchings. A substantial collection from Bach's The Well-tempered Clavier, Book 1 (BWV 846-869) is available for the first time in a limited edition. The portfolio features 24 etchings, Preludes and Fugues (BWV 858-869), that are as varied and different as the elements that make up the superbly integrated musical pieces it accompanies.
The edition of 12 copies are numbered and signed on Magnani Italia 28" X 40" paper. The portfolio, Gothic in scope, is colossal for the grandeur of its look, encased in a blue linen box, hinged with black linen and holding 24 prints with their respective interpretive comments. Multiple layers of aquatints create illusions of space and abstraction reminiscent of the Baroque style of Bach's compositions and the visual arts of the time.
Johann Sebastian Bach composed this first book of The Well-tempered Clavier, Preludes and Fugues , during a period when time hung heavily on his hands and where for a short time the Court made a small clavier available for his use. These Preludes and Fugues (BWV 846-869) were written for the 12 equal semitones of the scale, in both the major and minor keys to celebrate the victory to the musical world of the system of "tempered" tuning.

Measures:

* Aquatint/Etching
* 40" x 28"

Creator:

Artist: Elizabeth Harington
Year: 1997
Printing: Aleksandar Duravcevic/Printmaking Workshop
Typesetter: Jerry Kelly/Jerry Kelly Associates
Lithography: Judith Solokin/Solo Press
Box Binding: James DiMarcantonio/Hope Bindery

Comments:

About the artist:
Born of British parents in South Africa, Elizabeth Harington has worked as an artist, teacher and printmaker most of her life. She relocated to the United States in 1978 and became affiliated with the Printmaking Workshop. Harington has shown internationally and is presented in many prominent collections. She is also a recipient of many awards including a Gottlieb Foundation Grant in 1992 and in 1991 and 1995 a Pollock-Krasner Award.
The serial approach to printmaking lends itself to the birth of a theme, where the entire series is considered a single work. These prints are Elizabeth Harington's personal journey into the visualization of Bach's musical score and her professional consideration for printmaking is to assist with rendering these ideas. These 24 prints embellish a musical experience, so that the memory of sound remains linked to an aesthetic form.

Buy item at:

See Source/Links below.

Source/Links: Colophon: Elizabeth Harington | Elizabeth Harington Website
Contributor: Teddy Kaufman (January 2008)