Jager op een besneeuwde landweg before 1909

This etching by V.C. Andrigo delicately captures a hunter on a snow-covered path, using understated blacks and whites. Imagine the artist, hunched over a metal plate, carefully etching each line, each tree trunk and the path ahead. I can almost feel the crisp, cold air and the crunch of snow beneath the hunter's boots. There’s something about the parallel lines of the trees that creates a sense of depth, as if the path extends far beyond what we can see. But it's not just about what's depicted; it's about the act of mark-making itself. The way the artist has used light and shadow, suggests a quiet but determined walk, an unspoken focus of a solitary figure in the landscape. There is such an intimate conversation between the artist and the medium. It reminds me that paintings, etchings or drawings are never really finished, are they? They keep unfolding in our minds, connecting us to each other, one step at a time.