This is one of a group of 143 state, trial and cancellation proofs of etchings by Lucian Freud (1922-2011) which came from the collection of Marc Balakjian (1938-2017) of Studio Prints. Balakjian was Freud’s printer from 1985 and worked closely with him on the production of his etchings.

The plate was bitten on 30 August 1996. Freud asked Balakjian to make the print dark. This was challenging becuase there were no etched marks in the area of the shoulders and chest defined by the shirt, and in some areas of the face. The solution came about by chance. Freud visited Studio Prints at a moment when Balakjian had half-wiped the ink from the shoulder area. Freud was pleased with the result - a mottled textured effect suggestive of the weave of a shirt - and asked balakjian to print the entire edition to replicate this effect. In an interview with Tessa Sidey, Balakjian explained that this meant that he was effectively 'printing an edition as a monoprint, so much ink is left and wiped to show light and texture on the shoulder and face.' Freud accepted that the challenges of inking the plate to achieve this mottled effect in every impression would result in some variation across the edition. The cancellation proof (E.317-2020) shows how the plate printed without these areas of ink left on the plate in the shoulders and the face.