The Meuse 1893

Curator: This is François Maréchal's "The Meuse," an etching from 1893, held here at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Editor: My first impression is just how deeply nocturnal it feels, all soft charcoal tones and shimmering reflections. It feels hushed. Curator: The etching process really lends itself to that mood, doesn't it? All those fine lines capturing the damp air and the oily reflections on the water... You almost feel the cold rising from the river. I find it so striking how he uses such a simple technique to evoke such atmosphere. Editor: Absolutely. Thinking about the late 19th century, these growing cities, particularly industrial hubs built around rivers, experienced radical shifts in social life, pollution and health—which often became breeding grounds for both utopian and dystopian visions of modern existence. It raises questions about visibility and marginalization, especially if we consider that Maréchal lived through tumultuous times marked by industrial unrest, revolutionary politics, and shifting class dynamics in Europe. The darkness almost conceals and protects these tensions... Curator: Hides them, perhaps? Or, in the way that memory often works, softening harsh edges? I imagine the city in 1893 must have been quite different to actually experience—rougher, noisier, more pungent. Editor: Indeed! The romanticism we perceive may stem from the softening gaze of time, our longing for simpler moments, but I would suggest Maréchal doesn’t shy away from offering us space for complexity in this portrayal of industry's shadowy footprint. Curator: It's true, isn't it, that we often imbue art with our own feelings, even our longings, layering them onto what's actually there. And those longings say as much about the present as about any purported past. But perhaps that is the role of memory after all: To connect. To allow understanding of a place like The Meuse through understanding of one's self. Editor: Absolutely. Maybe Maréchal is inviting us to reimagine our relationship with nature and the built environment—or maybe it’s as simple as observing the transient beauty in our ordinary world. Curator: Or just feel it, be within it, just like this. Thank you!