Classic London, St. Martin's-in-the-Fields 1906

Joseph Pennell captured St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields in an etching from 1904, using delicate lines and a muted palette. Can’t you just imagine him hunched over the plate, scratching away, building up the image bit by bit? It’s like watching a city emerge from a fog. I find myself wondering what Pennell was thinking as he worked, his hand guiding the needle to create this architectural portrait. The texture is so light, almost like a memory of a place rather than a concrete depiction. See how he renders the columns? Each stroke feels deliberate, capturing the grandeur of the architecture with such minimal means. It reminds me of Whistler’s cityscapes, all about atmosphere and suggestion. Artists, they’re always in conversation with each other, aren’t they? Trading ideas, responding to the world in their own unique way. And isn’t that what art is all about? A conversation, a connection, a way of seeing the world anew.