Rossetti's House 1906

This is Joseph Pennell’s etching, Rossetti’s House, and it’s like a whisper from the past. The whole image feels like a memory, seen through a screen. Pennell’s mark-making is so delicate, almost tentative. The lines scratch across the surface like fleeting thoughts. Take a look at the way he renders the foliage; it’s a mass of tiny, nervous strokes that give the impression of constant movement, as if the wind is rustling through the trees. I love the way the image emerges from the ground, as if appearing through fog. It’s all about the process, the way the acid bites into the plate, leaving this ghostly residue. You can almost feel Pennell’s hand moving across the plate, guided by intuition and a deep appreciation for the texture and tone he coaxes from the metal. Think of Whistler, another master of the etching, who could turn a simple cityscape into a symphony of light and shadow. Like Whistler, Pennell shows us that art is not about perfect representation but about capturing a feeling, a fleeting moment in time.