My handcrafted print of Cologne cathedral has been shortlisted for the 2026 Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. This is the largest annual exhibition of prints, paintings, sculpture and Architecture. It’s such an important event that I’m always delighted at the prospect of showing there; the informed audience is huge and sales have always been good. I have shown successfully on 5 previous occasions. Several works have been cathedral-based and two editions of views at Gloucester cathedral sold out.
No one could fail to be impressed by Cologne, the tallest cathedral -151m – in the world. Especially startling if you climb to the base of the towers and look up to their summits.
Inspired by my visit to the cathedral last year, I made a small etching (125mm x 175mm) first printing it in black and white before making an edition in three colours. A soft purple gives recession to the cathedral silhouette The muted orange of the bridge gives a nice contrast to the purple and references it’s metal structure (artistic licence- it’s neither rusty nor orange). The graded soft yellow of the sky holds the picture together.
The plate is polished zinc, stopped out after the first bite so the bridge has a deeper bite than the cathedral ; this is more evident in the black and white version. It’s tricky to wipe and print in one pass on the press.
The view is across the Rhine from Deutz, contrasting the stone of the cathedral with the steel railway bridge.
This is the latest in my series of prints (40 and growing) of various churches, abbeys and cathedrals in England, Wales, France, Germany and Italy. You can find examples on this website.
I am inspired by the wonderful crafsmanship of these buildings and the various styles of Gothic architecture in particular. (Although built in the Gothic style, the towers at Cologne weren’t actually erected until 1880)
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Henry Hagger Studio 