The Road to Arles is a piece that Arthur created when becoming inspired by “the particular qualities of light and shadows along a tree-lined road leading from Arles to Tarascon” (Johnson, 1980). This collage looks fairly simple to make; however, it is quite the opposite. It actually required 19 separate runs due to the complexity of the color scheme and took over 6 months for Arthur and the master printer, Jeff Wasserman to complete. We just learned that Arthur considers this piece a homage to Van Gogh as he knew the roads that lead to Arles.
Often times, the skill of the master printer is overlooked. The artist creates the original image and it is up to the printer to duplicate the same colors that were provided and also follow additional instructions given by the artist. These versions are referred to as bon a tirers. The Arthur Secunda Museum houses 2 of these, as a way to demonstrate the importance of their role in reproducing an artist’s vision, making it available for us to enjoy.
Reference
Johnson, U. E. (1980). American prints and printmakers. Garden City, NY:
Doubleday & Company, Inc.
Secunda's Art Museum 