Artifex

Exploring a long-held interest in natural history, Leonard Baskin embarked upon a project to record flying insects in near-microscopic detail. Diptera: A Book of Flies & Other Insects, 1983, is at its core an ode to insects. Diptera is the order that comprises all insects with one pair of wings, including mosquitoes and flies. The artist’s unusual choice of subject matter recalls the work of nineteenth-century naturalists and entomological illustrators, another example of how easily Baskin crossed traditional artistic boundaries.

Baskin conceived the project with the help of his friend, the poet Jose Iglesias, who wrote the introduction. Diptera also signaled the artist’s new interest in color etchings. Many of his plates were meticulously inked à la poupée, an antique French technique that employed multiple colored inks. Cornell’s copy is the printer’s copy, a gift to the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections from Lisa Unger Baskin.

Diptera: a Book of Flies & other Insects

The same etching plate, printed intaglio and inked à la poupée, in full color, changes dramatically when relief printed in black. The color version appeared in the published volume, while the black image is a special artist's proof inscribed to Baskin's friends.

Baskin's note at the foot of the galley proof indicates that Ted Hughes offered his friend some helpful editorial advice on the use of capital letters in the table of contents.

Yellow Fever Mosquitos

Baskin compiled extensive notes and early proofs for most of his Gehenna Press publications. Diptera was no exception. Here, he created a calligraphic cover for the first part of the work book and compiled a number of preliminary proofs in various colors for an image ultimately printed in black on white paper.

Praying Mantis & Grasshoppers

The range of Diptera proofs demonstrates the artist’s working procedures. Baskin’s variation of papers (or, in one case, vellum), inking, and applied color dramatically affect the central image.