The Square, Independence Square, Philadelphia 1920

Joseph Pennell made this etching, of Independence Square in Philadelphia, using ink on paper. The whole thing feels like it was drawn with one long, continuous breath. See how the lines accumulate to form a mass, and how the artist only focuses on the details in certain parts of the composition? The texture is like a dense flocking of marks, each one suggesting the shadows and shapes of foliage, architecture, and figures. There is such freedom in the way the space is constructed, dissolving and solidifying as the eye moves across the surface. I like the way that one big, gnarled tree on the right sort of mirrors the shape of the steeple of the building on the left. Artists like James McNeill Whistler also explored this method of artmaking, using similar mark-making, and a limited tonal range, which lets them get to the crux of the space and the feeling of it. It’s like a dream, a memory, or a fleeting moment captured with remarkable sensitivity.