Autumn after rain

Born in Totnes, Dorathea Wight established Studio Prints - a legendary London printmaking workshop. More than 100 contemporary British artists used the space for editioning and platemaking. Wight is known for her colour mezzotints.

Meaning ‘halftone’ in Italian, this type of intaglio print uses light and shade to form the image. The artist roughens a copperplate to yield a burr which will catch the ink. Then, the artist smooths the burr in places to create areas of light.

“She had a way of wiping a plate to create a glowing effect, and was particularly good at catching the quality of light.” Celia Paul on Wight.

Visual description: a casement window bordered by green curtains. The folds of the curtain are defined with straight, darker green shading that tapers closer to the top. There are two separate panels, each with six panes of glass divided by thin black bars. The top four panes on either side are squares, the bottom two are elongated rectangles. The window frame is the same colour as the bars but much thicker. The panel on the right is open halfway. There is a tree in a field of wheat across a hill visible through the window. Other hills are visible in the distance. The sky is stark and pale.