RSA Scottish Art
Evening, Nimes
 | Artist: James McIntosh Patrick |
| Title: Evening, Nimes | |
| Year: 1927 | |
| Medium: etching on paper | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: | |
| Source: RSA | |
| View full screen image of this work | |
| Open print version of this work | |
| © the artist’s family | |
| Description: James McIntosh Patrick was a familiar sight in the countryside of Angus, Perthshire and Fife, and many of his paintings reached a nationwide audience through their use as posters for the regional railways. Evening, Nimes is a print developed from studies Patrick made in the south of France in 1926. Specifically the print is an etching, where a steel plate is directly etched with sharp tools before being inked and pressed onto paper. The marks in this image show that the etching is made by drawing, cross-hatching, line shading or outlines into the steel. Full black tones can be achieved by using chemicals to eat away the surface of the steel, where a “pool” of ink will form and make a very dark area on the printing paper. The print reflects Patrick's interest in the form and structure of buildings, in particular the dominance of triangles and squares. The buildings in this print also act as a backdrop to the townsfolk taking their evening stroll. He was influenced by the work of Italian painters of the 15th century who painted biblical scenes performed in front of tightly structured landscapes and townscapes.The dark masses of the buildings contrast with the pale sky immediately above; but a heavy, black sky at the top of the print provides a forbidding presence. Although the figures seem to be strolling around calmly, there is a slightly sinister air to the scene. The darkening sky adds to this, but perhaps what makes the image a little disturbing is the feeling that your eye does not rest on one place, nor is your view led to a particular point. There is a flatness about the buildings which gives the scene an artificial feel, almost like a theatre set. | |
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