IMAGES FROM ANCIENT PERSIA Print - Limited Edition of 8

This etching employs four individual zinc plates to produce one single image; and, all four were aligned and positioned on the printing press bed in a two-over-two design (height by width). I adjusted the “in-between” spacing in the shape of a cross on the press before placing the printmaking paper (STONEHENGE brand; color cream; from United Kingdom) over the plates before running them through the press. I printed with Charbonnel etching ink from France (oil-based; my own blend of violet). The work was hand printed by the artist at within The Open Studio in Etching, where he serves as a Studio Monitor. Di Falco’s etching studio is located at The Center for Works on Paper (705 Catherine Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US), which is a part of the Fleischer Art Memorial, located just one-block away at 714 Catherine Street in South Philadelphia. Both come under the jurisdiction of The Philadelphia Museum of Art, located at the end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street in the city’s central area. Di Falco’s printmaking techniques for this four-plated etching included aquatint, intaglio and drypoint. His etching was inspired by photographic images from archeological expeditions in Iran (1931-1939, conducted by The University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute) of the ancient city of Persepolis. The images are carved reliefs from THE APADANA (a massive hypostyle hall). Persepolis, meaning "city of Persians",[1] was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550–330 BC). Persepolis is situated 70 km northeast of city of Shiraz in the Fars Province in Iran. The earliest remains of Persepolis date from around 515 BC. It exemplifies the Achaemenid style of architecture. UNESCO declared the citadel of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979 An Apadana (from Old Persian) is a large hypostyle hall, the best-known examples being the great audience hall and portico at Persepolis and the palace of Susa. The Persepolis Apadana belongs to the oldest building phase of the city of Persepolis, the first half of the 5th century BC, as part of the original design by Darius the Great. Its construction completed by Xerxes I. A modern scholarship “demonstrates the metaphorical nature of the Apadana reliefs as idealized social orders".[1] Cool Root, Margaret (1985). "The Parthenon Frieze and the Apadana Reliefs at Persepolis: Reassessing a Programmatic Relationship". American Journal of Archaeology 89 (1): 103–122. “The images in my etching depict — TOP LEFT: Detail of Relief showing hand with vase carried by a Syrian Tribute-Bearer; TOP RIGHT: (From The Apadana Eastern Stairway, Face, Relief Detail of a Cappadocian); BOTTOM LEFT: (From The Apadana Eastern Stairway, Face, Detail of an Arabian Tribute Bearer (sans curly beard) BOTTOM RIGHT: Apadana Stairway. (From The Apadana Stairway. Detail of an amphora, adorned with two winged griffin heads, carried by an Armenian tribute bearer.)” Di Falco used both HARD and SOFT grounds (both liquid and hard-ball) and twelve separate dips in the nitric acid bath (of each zinc plate) to achieve the haunting effects in this work, which took over three months to complete. DIMENSIONS & EDITION INFO: This work is from the FIRST EDITION of THREE EDITIONS (only EDITION ONE, “THE VIOLET EDITION” has been created as of February 2015; There will only be EIGHT ETCHINGS in each edition.) This is Print Number 3 in Edition One (or as numbered on the print 3/8; I/III). Each plate measures five-inches high by four inches wide (12.700cm x 10.160cm). The print/paper size is 15 inches high by 12 inches wide (26cm x 21cm). Price includes frame, shipment and packing.

Printmaking:Aquatint on Paper

Artist Produced Limited Edition of:8

Size:16 W x 20 H x 1 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.