Plate for Self-Portrait

On the surface of this copper plate Raphael Soyer created the original image for his etching Self Portrait, which he printed in two states (TF 2004.4, TF 2004.7). The artist drew a series of lines on the plate that, with the aid of acid, were incised on the metal surface. Due to the nature of the printing process, the printed impressions reverse the image on the plate. While the copper surface is somewhat murky and hard to read, the evident clusters of lines, when inked, translate into a touching representation of the elderly artist's face.

Etching plates such as this are relative rarities, for many artists limit the number of impressions they print by defacing or destroying their plates after printing. However, such objects can yield valuable insights into an artist's working methods when compared with various states of the resulting etching.