#Frits Knuf

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Marbled Monday

Dutch artist Karli Frigge began marbling paper in 1963 and has had a prolific career in marbled paper production. Her compendium of sample books includes 349 different samples of marbled paper, all made by Frigge. This book, Marbled Landscapes, includes 12 landscapes made using a variety of marbling techniques. It was bound in the winter of 1987-1988 and the landscapes themselves were made during the summers of 1982-1987. The book's layout was done by Willem de Valk, it was published by Frits Knuf, and bound by Karli Frigge. Our copy is a gift from the estate of our late friend, Dennis Bayuzick.

There are a variety of marbling patterns at play in these landscapes, including the traditional nonpareil and bouquet or "peacock" patterns. The colors match Frigge's feelings throughout the days of making the landscapes:

"Early in the morning the landscapes have a delicate hue, like mist over the fields and as fragile as the courage I am trying to muster up.

After a while I get into my stride. Then the marbling is properly done: sprinkling the paint on the surface with accuracy, moving the pin and the comb through it with a steady hand, laying down a sheet of paper and peeling it off, washing and hanging it up...

When a couple of hours has gone by in this way and the workshop is stuffed half-way with gleamingly wet sheets... self-discipline fades and I begin to yearn for a wild landscape."

View more Marbled Monday posts.

-- Alice, Special Collections Department Manager