Landschap met zon en twee figuren 1877 - 1950

Barbara Elisabeth van Houten made this landscape with sun and two figures with etching, a form of printmaking, and it’s all about the surface, the touch. You see, with etching, the artist draws into a waxy ground on a metal plate, which is then dipped in acid. The acid eats away at the exposed lines, creating grooves that hold the ink. I think of it like a dance between control and chance, kind of like my own painting practice, where I lay down a mark and then respond to what's already there. Look closely, and you can see the delicate network of lines. It’s kind of magical, how van Houten evokes this sense of vastness and light with such simple means. The figures themselves are almost swallowed by the landscape, but they anchor the composition, and the sun, just a soft glow on the horizon, hints at something beyond the immediate. This piece reminds me of Whistler and his atmospheric landscapes. It reminds me that art is just a conversation across time, a continuous exchange of ideas.