Le Merlu

Reading the work

A large fish lies across draped linen, its body tracing a wide arc from head to curled tail. Before it, grapes, apples and a sprig of wheat gather into a still life within the still life. Cottet lays the etching needle down dense and parallel, modelling scales, cloth folds and background half-shadow through line alone – a virtuoso classical still life translated into pure black-and-white graphic art.