Untitled (Orchestra) c. 1932

This is Bernard Sanders' "Untitled (Orchestra)," an undated etching. The whole thing is built with these nervous, scratchy lines, like he's trying to capture not just what's there, but the feeling of being there. It’s so immediate, like a sketch, but it's also got this really compelling structure to it. Check out how he uses the lines, they're not just descriptive, they're expressive, building up the darks and lights with this almost frantic energy. You can practically hear the cacophony of instruments tuning up before a performance, all these little marks adding up to a bigger picture of organised chaos. And then there’s the texture, that rough, almost raw surface. It feels like he’s digging into the plate, and that physicality translates into a real visceral experience for the viewer. This reminds me a little of some of the social realist printmakers like Käthe Kollwitz; there's that same sense of empathy. It’s all about mark making, and reminds us that art is always an ongoing conversation.