Lucian Freud

Lucien Freud here uses a dense, wiry etched line to explore the complex topography of Lord Goodman's face. Although this image appears to be all line, it is worth noting the important descriptive role played by white space. In some spots, such as in the area along the sitter's upper lip, Freud uses white space to indicate passages of reflected light. The white is the result of the technique of "stopping out." To make an etching, a needle is used to inscribe a design into a waxy resin that coats a metal plate. The whole is then plunged into an acid bath, and the acid attacks the areas of metal left bare by the needle, etching the design onto the plate. To "stop out" is to apply a varnish over lines already made by the etching needle, in order to make these areas resistant to acid once again. Stopping out may thus be used like an eraser. In the case of Lord Goodman's upper lip, we can detect the traces of erasure by looking at the lines nearby, which seem to extend underneath the white mark.