Koe aan de waterkant 1887 - 1940

Gerard Altmann created this small etching, Koe aan de waterkant, with ink on paper. Look at how Altmann renders the scene with this incredibly delicate, almost frantic scribbling. It's like he’s wrestling the landscape onto the plate. The magic’s in the detail, right? Notice how he captures light reflecting on the water's surface with tiny, chaotic scratches. This isn’t about capturing a perfect image; it’s about capturing the feeling of a place. See how those lines build up, layer upon layer, creating a density that almost vibrates? It’s like he’s building the world one scratch at a time. I’m reminded of Whistler, another master of etching. But where Whistler is all about elegance, Altmann feels a bit more raw, a bit more immediate. It’s in these small, intimate works that the real essence of an artist often shines through.