Battle of the Nudes

Fig. 9. Details showing additional
line work in the second state.
Cleveland (left), Boston (right).
to the left of the head and proper right shoulder of the figure at the far right stab-
bing the man on the ground; and a few section lines were inserted on some plant
stalks at right, to the left of the right ax man's stomach, for example. It should be
noted that much of the added shading is executed in a manner in keeping with
some of the fine zigzag-type lines already found in background areas in the first
state (fig. 10). However, aside from the alteration of the thigh shadow and what ap-
pear to be a few tiny strokes on the navel of the figure in the lower right stabbing
the man on the ground (fig. 11), the shading and contours of the figures appear to
be untouched.
Overall, the reworking of the plate seems limited, even nuanced in some
places, with most changes focused on adjusting shading here and there to increase
the sense of space around or between adjacent objects. Admittedly, there is some
variation of refinement in the changes. The tiny adjustments to the shading on the
quiver and in some of the foliage, and the lines in the patch of shading on the far
right ax man's thigh appear more delicately executed than some of the quick short
strokes added above and below the name plaque and vines, or in the re-engraving
of some of the interstices of the background. However, the intention or motivation
appears to be the same. The explanation for these alterations may be revealed by the
most obvious one—the shading of the ax man's thigh. This is clearly not re-engrav-
ing of worn lines but a conscious decision to sacrifice the specificity of muscular
definition in order to clarify the placement of the leg behind another figure by shad-
ing the thigh. Thus the evident changes to the plate and the fact that the figures,
where the finest shading lines occur and which are thus most vulnerable to wear,
were largely unaltered suggests that the reworking was aesthetically motivated
rather than an attempt to strengthen a worn plate.
Aside from state changes, the type of printing ink can also dramatically affect
an impression's appearance. One reason that Richards may have been deceived
about the extent of rework in the second state is the extreme difference between the
inks used in the Cleveland and Fogg impressions, the two examples she cited for
comparison. Cleveland's ink is thin and sparsely pigmented. Therefore, in many
fine lines, pigment particles appear as if individually suspended along the em-
bossed line instead of as a continuous solid black (fig. 12a). The effect is similar to
knots spaced along a piece of thread. As a result, white paper shows through the
spaces between the black particles, the lines have a blurred edge, and from a dis-
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