Feu Sous l'eau
In 1950 Hayter returned to Paris and reopened Atelier 17. Works such as Fire under the Water reveal new influences, such as that of the Ardèche, an area of southern France he visited frequently after acquiring a house there in 1951. Hayter took great interest in the flowing Escoutay River, an experience that parallels the artist and co-director of Atelier 17 Krishna Reddy’s interest in the depiction of water. While some forms in this print evoke the natural world, the palette of contrasting tones of purple, yellow, black, and white reflects Hayter’s belief that color should be used intuitively to express an emotion or evoke certain feelings. The sharp white relief lines from the paper and the textural effects realized through soft-ground etching operate in tandem with the sweeping curves and bold colors to give the composition a sense of vitality and dynamism.
Artwork Details
- Title: Feu Sous l'eau
- Artist: Stanley William Hayter (British, London 1901–1988 Paris)
- Publisher: La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine, Paris
- Date: 1955
- Medium: Engraving, soft-ground etching and scorper, color
- Dimensions: Plate: 10 1/4 × 7 in. (26 × 17.8 cm)
Sheet: 17 1/2 × 12 1/2 in. (44.5 × 31.8 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1967
- Object Number: 67.709.1
- Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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Multiple artists/makers
1960
Stanley William Hayter
1952
Stanley William Hayter
1944
Stanley William Hayter
1941
Stanley William Hayter
1943
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