Etching on paper
Tate Collection
Works with images
General Collection
Collection
<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/leon-kossoff-1436" aria-label="More by Leon Kossoff" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">Leon Kossoff</a>
Cephalus and Aurora 2
Presented by Peter and Liz Goulds 1999
actions: expressive
actions: postures and motions
adults
animals: fantastic
animals: mammals
Cephalus
child
children
classical myths: creatures
classical myths: gods and heroes
embracing
emotions and human qualities
emotions, concepts and ideas
Eos / Aurora
female
fine art and design, named works
horse
landscape
love
man
nudes
objects
Pegasus
people
Poussin, Nicolas, painting, ‘Cephalus and Aurora’
putto
religion and belief
restraining
sitting
standing
winged horse
woman
wooded
<p>This print is one of many etchings executed by Leon Kossoff in response to, and literally in the presence of, oil paintings by old masters; in this case <i>Cephalus and Aurora</i>, 1629-30 (National Gallery, London) by Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665). Tate owns three prints by Kossoff after this Poussin painting (Tate P11690-2). The artist’s ability to explore a number of separate responses while making drawings and prints from a single subject is illustrated in these etchings. This version is printed in brown ink on white paper. It was printed in an edition of twenty with ten artist’s proofs; Tate owns number three of the artist’s proofs.</p>
paper print etching
Cephalus and Aurora (2)
image: 429 × 657 mm
Presented by Peter and Liz Goulds 1999
<p>This print is one of many etchings executed by Leon Kossoff in response to, and literally in the presence of, oil paintings by old masters; in this case <i>Cephalus and Aurora</i>, 1629-30 (National Gallery, London) by Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665). Tate owns three prints by Kossoff after this Poussin painting (Tate <a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/kossoff-cephalus-and-aurora-1-p11690" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>P11690</span></a>-2). The artist’s ability to explore a number of separate responses while making drawings and prints from a single subject is illustrated in these etchings. This version is printed in brown ink on white paper. It was printed in an edition of twenty with ten artist’s proofs; Tate owns number three of the artist’s proofs. 
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<br/>The story of Cephalus and Aurora is told in Book Seven of Ovid's <i>Metamorphoses</i>. Cephalus, an Athenian hero, fell in love with and married Procris. Shortly afterwards while hunting deer he caught the attention of the Goddess of Dawn, Aurora. She had a roving eye and was frequently attracted to young mortal men. Descending from her mountain home, Aurora carried Cephalus off with her. However, on finding that he remained faithful to Procris, she allowed him to return home, privately swearing vengeance. She caused a spirit of jealousy to infect their marriage and this eventually resulted in the accidental death of Procris who suffered a wound inflicted by Cephalus with his hunting spear. 
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<br/>Poussin’s painting portrays a seated Aurora clinging on to the waist of Cephalus who is struggling to get away from her. Poussin makes explicit the reason for Cephalus' rejection of Aurora by depicting a winged infant holding up a portrait of Procris. It is the portrait that lures Cephalus away from Aurora. A god, probably Oceanus, lies sleeping to the left of the protagonists, while behind them is Pegasus, the winged horse, and a goddess, probably Terra, who is associated with the beginning of the day. Kossoff’s spare response to this painting traces the core relationship of the couple and their attendant cast. In this version Kossoff has added tone to create a mass of lines and dappled shadows in the background, against which the pale, unshaded figures stand out starkly. This effect was created by partial stopping out (covering with varnish to arrest the action of the acid), with a final emphasis with drypoint strengthening the marks delineating the figures. A consequence of the printing process is that the image is a reverse of Poussin’s original. Kossoff’s print does not compete with Poussin’s painting, nor does it seek to transcribe, copy or paraphrase it. Rather, it acknowledges the gulf that separates it from the pictorial culture of former times and reveals his desire to find points of contact with Poussin. He has described the value of this kind of draughtsmanship as a means to building up an acquaintance with the subject of a picture made by another artist until he feels free to ‘move about in its imaginative spaces’ (Kendall, p.19).
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<br/>Kossoff has described the moment of intense elation, which occurred some forty years ago, when he first established a vital connection with Poussin’s art. As a youth and then as a student in London, he had become familiar with the rich historical collections of the National Gallery. One day he had a transformative experience while looking at Poussin’s <i>Cephalus and Aurora</i>:
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<p>It seemed as though I was experiencing the work for the first time. I suppose there is a difference between looking and experiencing. Paintings of this quality, in which the subject is endlessly glowing with luminosity, can, in an unexpected moment, surprise the viewer, revealing unexplored areas of self. </p>
<p align="right">(Kendall, p.19)
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<p>The recent prints made by Kossoff after paintings by Poussin therefore emerge from almost half a century of involvement with Poussin’s oeuvre, initially stimulated by this moment of insight at the National Gallery but more immediately by the 1995 retrospective exhibition, <i>Nicolas Poussin 1594-1665</i>, at the Royal Academy of Arts, London.
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<br/>The etching plates were prepared by Ann Dowker, a London artist who later collaborated with Kossoff on biting the plates with acid, wiping them before printing, and making trial proofs. In some cases, areas of the etchings were washed with aquatint; in others, lines were emphasised by drypoint. The etchings were printed by Mark Balakjian at Studio Prints, London. 
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<br/><b>Further reading:</b>
<br/>Richard Kendall, <i>Drawn to Painting</i>, London 2000, pp.37, 42-3, reproduced p.96 in colour
<br/>Paul Moorhouse, <i>Leon Kossoff</i>, exhibition catalogue, Tate Gallery, London 1996, pp.27-30
<br/><i>Leon Kossoff: Recent Paintings</i>, exhibition catalogue, British Council, Venice 1995
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<br/>Anna Bright
<br/>September 2005</p>

Summary
2006-04-18T00:00:00
summary
SHORT_TEXT
actions: expressive actions: postures and motions adults animals: fantastic animals: mammals Cephalus child children classical myths: creatures classical myths: gods and heroes embracing emotions and human qualities emotions, concepts and ideas Eos / Aurora female fine art and design, named works horse landscape love man nudes objects Pegasus people Poussin, Nicolas, painting, ‘Cephalus and Aurora’ putto religion and belief restraining sitting standing winged horse woman wooded