Kade met omnibusboten in Parijs met de Eiffeltoren op de achtergrond 1904

This etching of the quays with omnibus boats in Paris, complete with the Eiffel Tower in the background, was made by Eugène Bejot. I can imagine him, bending over his etching plate, somewhere along the Seine, committing the scene to paper. And what a scene it is! The Eiffel Tower looms in the background, yes, but our attention is immediately pulled towards the clutter of boats in the foreground. There’s something about the way he's captured those boats – sturdy yet a little ramshackle, each with its own story to tell. I bet Bejot felt a kinship with them, quietly observing the pulse of city life, much like he was doing. What was Bejot thinking as he made this? It is as though the hand of the artist is there; each mark, each line feels deliberate yet spontaneous. It's like he's inviting us to wander those quays alongside him, to feel the pulse of Paris in a bygone era. And maybe, just maybe, he’s reminding us that we’re all just boats passing in the night, each with our own course to navigate.