Parking Space N.Y.C. c. 1930

This is Parking Space N.Y.C., an undated etching by Gottlob L. Briem, with the image measuring about 377 by 251 millimetres. It's all in blacks, whites, and greys, a simple palette. But that’s where the simplicity ends. There's such a sense of depth and texture here, each line meticulously placed to create the towering buildings and the somewhat dwarfed figures below. Look at how Briem uses hatching and cross-hatching to build up tone and form. It’s almost architectural in its precision, yet there’s also a looseness. In the bottom left of the image, the lines are chaotic. They are so dense that they create an area of darkness, which helps to emphasize the light falling on the taller buildings. Briem has a similar approach to Piranesi. But where Piranesi has scale, Briem has observation. His perspective creates a world of angular, claustrophobic grandeur. The etching feels like an ongoing conversation about the way we see and experience the spaces around us.