This new set, dedicated to Robert d'Arcy, British Ambassador to the RepubHc 

 of Venice, was based on gouache paintings by Marco Ricci, probably done on goat- 

 skin or leather in his usual manner. For Jackson to make these color prints was a logi- 

 cal step, since his work had tended toward the full chromatic range even in the chia- 

 roscuros, which "adumbrated" color. His new prints were all color — clear, sensidve, 

 and tonally just. It is not surprising that he seized upon Ricci's opaque watercolors. 

 The paindngs of the Venetian masters had darkened in ill-lit churches, the shadows 

 had become murky, there were too many figures. But the Ricci paintings were small 

 and clearly patterned, the color sparkled. 



The original gouaches have not been located, but from other examples in the 

 same manner, in Buckingham Palace and in the UfEzi, it is plain that Jackson took 

 certain Uberdes. Ricci's rather sharp colors were considerably modified and mel- 

 lowed when they weren't changed entirely: witness the two sets in different har- 

 monies in die British Museum. Peter A. Wick (1955) believes it most likely that 

 Jackson did not copy specific paintings, and suggests that details from Ricci's etch- 

 ings and gouaches were combined and freely amended to create Ricci-like designs. 



Having determined his color scheme Jackson cut seven to ten blocks, each 

 designed to bear an individual color which was to combine with others when 

 necessary to form new colors. No outline block was used. To obtain variations 

 from light to dark in each pigment Jackson scraped down the blocks with a knife ; 

 he thus lowered the surfaces slightly and created porous textures which would 

 introduce the white paper or the underlying color. Examination of the prints 

 clearly shows granular textures in the light areas. Scraping to lighten impressions 

 was a common procedure in black-and-white printmaking, and was described by 

 both Papillon and Bewick. In addition Jackson no doubt used underlays, that is, 

 small pieces of paper pasted in layers of diminishing size on the backs of the blocks 

 where the color was most intense. The pressure was therefore greatest in the deep- 

 est notes and hghtest in the scraped parts. The copper plate press enabled Jackson 

 to get good register without making marks on the blocks. The paper was damp- 

 ened and fastened to the chase at one end. After each impression the next inked 

 block was slid into the chase and printed wet into wet. Problems of register were 

 eliminated because the sheets were held in place at all times, the blocks fitting the 

 same form. No doubt the paper was sprinkled with water on the reverse side after 



35 



