Page 8 - THE DECAMERON: 100 Days on 100 Etchings by Petru Rusu
P. 8
The Entire Suite of 100 wanted to simulate the condition and looks of
an original edition of the tales which he thought
Prints of Boccacio’s would be printed on vellum or early handmade
paper and certainly not have an even, ruler-
Decameron by straight edge. The broad, deeply bitten lines
in the plate that sit massively on the paper’s
Petru Rusu on View surface are the result of dipping the prepared
plate repeatedly into sulphuric acid.
While working, Petru Rusu also changed his
technique. In the early plates, fine nervously
The artist was there, too. That was too much vibrating lines crisscross the plate or run parallel.
of a good thing, and I asked whether I might Over time, these sensitive lines give way to
interview him for my print collector friends in single, strong cords, solidly incised into the plate
the States. The idea was lovingly accepted.
and solidly stacked on the paper, surrounding
the aquatinted areas like a wall.
I was delighted that by pure coincidence we may
be able to look into the working habits of one Deciphering the eroticism of the iconography
printmaker. Petru Rusu said that as a 14 year old was a challenge. One may even be tempted
he had read the Decameron. The erotic tales to reread Boccaccio’s tales. Petru Rusu
ruminated in his mind while he was growing up, provides an image of 14th century Italian life by
and some 15 years later he decided to make 10 weaving certain artifacts into his graphic tale.
prints of the tales that had impressed him most. Checkerboard tablecloths, wine glasses, rigged
Once begun in late 1983, however, he did not sailing vessels, horsemen and horsewomen,
finish until he had illustrated all the tales on 100 the headgear of the period appear throughout
plates two years later. He printed the edition the prints, in variations. Men and women are
of 10 impressions per plate himself. Initially, he barely humanoid, heads, torsi, limbs are floating
worked in finely drawn black lines and brown- in space, disconnected, yet making sense and
toned aquatint, printing 3 to 5 impressions of fitting together. Banquet tables with checkered
each plate in these subdued colors. As he went tablecloths are overturned, wine glasses have
on working, he found himself changing and fallen down, unbroken, the wine flowing out. A
added stronger colors in aquatint. Today, he real orgy. One head with a Cocteau-like profile
said, he prefers again more subdued colors and is barely connected to a necktie of the 20th
is even thinking of printing in black and white century. Limbs terminate in stumps or clumps or
only.
geometric finials. The anthropomorphic shapes
in prehistoric caves come to mind.
He worked with iron plates because iron,
according to him, lent itself better to illustrating Petru Rusu the printmaker forces the viewer
the Decameron than copper or zinc. Zinc plates, to return to his prints and try to interpret the
by the way, are often used by printmakers for meaning of their iconography. While they are
etching intaglio prints, while Plexiglas or similar immediately attractive visually, they ask for
material is preferred for engravings. Petru Rusu more attention in the long run.
explained that the edges of his plates were
irregular and crooked on purpose because he
Ingrid Rose
The Washington Print Club, 1987 Washington DC USA
8
