Contrejour in the French Style

Based on a painting of the same title (Museum Ludwig, Cologne), Contrejour in the French style was inspired by a window in the Pavillon de Flore, at the south-west corner of the Louvre. 'The first time I went [to the Louvre] I saw this window with the blind pulled down and the formal garden beyond. And I thought, oh it’s marvellous! marvellous! This is a picture in itself’ (D. Hockney, quoted in: Sykes, p. 305). Hockney had relocated to Paris in 1973, a move precipitated by the souring of his relationship with his former lover Peter Schlesinger. While in Paris, Hockney had the opportunity to work with the renowned etcher Aldo Crommelynck, who had collaborated closely with Picasso. 'It was thrilling to meet somebody who’d had such direct contact with Picasso and worked with him such a lot. He taught me marvellous technical things about etching’ (D.Hockney, quoted in: Sykes, p. 285). In particular, Crommelynck instructed Hockney in colour etching, using a new method that allowed for greater spontaneity in the creation of the colour plates, the traditional process of which was notoriously technical. While the etching of Contrejour follows the composition of the painting closely, Hockney re-interprets the interior scene with a range of intaglio techniques to create variations of line and texture. The speckled wallpaper, a nod to pointillism, is rendered with sugar-lift; the muted sunlight on the walls of the alcove with soft-ground etching; the golden blind and clipped lawn of the garden with aquatint; and the intricately cross-hatched parquet floor with hard-ground etching.