Friday, December 9, 2016

William Strang II

William Strang
Self-portrait no. 5
mezzotint
1885
British Museum

William Strang
Self-portrait no. 6
etching
1885
British Museum

William Strang
Self-portrait
1894
drawing
British Museum

William Strang
Self-portrait no. 13
etching
1894
British Museum

William Strang
Self-portrait no. 15
etching, engraving
1895-96
British Museum

William Strang
Self-portrait no. 16
drypoint
1897
British Museum

William Strang
Self-portrait no. 17
drypoint
1898-1902
British Museum

William Strang
Self-portrait no. 18
drypoint
1910
British Museum

William Strang
The Model, after Rembrandt
1882
etching
Victoria & Albert Museum

William Strang (1859-1921) seems to have been intent throughout his career on inviting comparison between himself and Rembrandt. There was the series of shadowy self-portraits extending over many years. Several of those, taut with effort, are reproduced at top. In the sophisticated etching immediately above, William Strang placed himself in the position Rembrandt must have occupied in relation to the model when making the famous Reclining nude of 1658 (below)  Strang then rotating the viewpoint 180 degrees to show the model (and artist) from the front rather than from the back.

Rembrandt
Reclining nude
1658
etching
Metropolitan Museum
gift of Louisine Havemeyer

William Strang
Study of a man's back
1896
engraving
British Museum

William Strang
Studies of a workman 
1904
drawing
British Museum

William Strang
Lady Layard
ca. 1885
mezzotint, etching
British Museum

William Strang
Young Puritan
1885
mezzotint, etching
British Museum