Gezicht op een straat in de regen 1910

Rik Wouters created this print, "Gezicht op een straat in de regen", using etching. Wouters lived in a Belgium that was undergoing rapid industrialization, but which was also on the brink of World War I. There's a solitary figure, likely a woman given her dress, walking along a slick street. The rain seems to wash over any sense of community. The gendered aspect of labor and movement in urban space becomes apparent. Women, often confined to domestic roles, navigated a public sphere still largely shaped by men. There's a melancholic quality to the piece; it speaks to the isolation that can exist even within bustling cityscapes. Wouters seems to hint at the tensions between progress and the human spirit, between our connections and disconnections, against a backdrop of societal uncertainty.