The Brussels Canal, A Modern Hobbema 1910

Joseph Pennell made this etching, "The Brussels Canal, A Modern Hobbema," whenever, wherever, however. Just imagine how the artist might have felt, pencil in hand, as the acid bit into the metal, line by line, to make this image. I'm curious about the title itself: "A Modern Hobbema." Who's Hobbema? I should know this, and maybe you do? This image is a real mash-up of industrial revolution and old master landscape. The canal is almost still, yet above it, there's a criss-cross of mechanical whatnots doing who-knows-what. Trees line the water, but in the background are smoking chimneys. It’s as if the artist stood at the edge of two worlds, looking one way and seeing nature, then turning his head to face something new and a little scary. What does it mean to try to make something beautiful out of this? Maybe it's an honest attempt to find some peace in the midst of chaos.