color mezzotint
1913
19 1/4 x 16
signed in pencil
Peter Ilsted was widely known for his interior scenes. Using the interior of his home and members of his family as sitters, his images would be scenes set in the kitchen preparing food, or in a dining room or drawing room with or without figures, but always with an emphasis on light and its interplay on surfaces.
Ilsted began working with the mezzotint printmaking process in 1906, when this technique was relatively uncommon in Denmark. He spent time studying and collecting English mezzotints, and “often printed his mezzotints in colour à la poupée, a technique that involves inking different areas on the plate by hand with a bundle of fabric, which allows for the use of several colours. This is a painstaking process, as the colours must be kept from mixing, and it has to be repeated for each run under the press. These truly singular coloured prints were highly sought after in his day.
Ilsted's images often generate the feeling of having just walked into the scene at a moment of transition. They depict a pause in time, just before things change, which creates a certain quality of anticipation and excitement. Despite their stillness, these images have a dynamic quality to them.
