Reynold Weidenaar

In this self-portrait, the artist confidently confronts the viewer’s gaze. He holds in his hand a rocker and a scraper—the mezzotinter’s tools. Weidenaar placed his likeness against a landscape dominated by an erupting volcano, making the print mysterious and strangely timeless. Traveling to Mexico in 1944, the artist sketched the eruption of Parícutin. An image he made of the volcano in 1945 was his first successful mezzotint, quoted in this formal self-portrait executed on his election to the National Academy of Design.

Largely self-taught, Weidenaar was a superb technician. He researched earlier tool designs and employed custom-made or modified rockers to create the rich grounds in his prints.