Katwijk 1904 - 1934

Albert Funke Küpper made this etching, Katwijk, without a date, using line to evoke tone and texture. The beauty here is in the simplicity and the way Küpper uses a minimal vocabulary to build a complex world. Look at the water, for example; with just a few squiggles and dashes, he suggests depth, movement, and reflection. The boats themselves are rendered with a similar economy, yet they feel solid and present. The way the lines vary in thickness and direction creates a kind of visual rhythm, like the ebb and flow of the tide. And there’s something about the starkness of the black and white that feels both timeless and immediate. It reminds me a little of the work of Emil Nolde, who also had a knack for capturing the raw energy of the natural world with such simple means. Ultimately, it's the unresolved nature of the image that is so engaging.