The Grand Canal 1930

John Taylor Arms made this etching of the Grand Canal, Venice, on a pale sheet of paper. It's all in these delicate, etched lines, like he’s trying to capture the very essence of Venice with the lightest touch. I can imagine him there, squinting in the Italian sun, trying to capture the way the light bounces off the water, the soft shimmer of the buildings. Look at the way the lines create the illusion of depth, how the buildings seem to fade into the distance, dissolving into the mist. It's all suggestion, a whisper of a place rather than a bold statement. It reminds me a bit of Whistler’s etchings, that same kind of quiet poetry. You can see artists like Arms are in conversation with each other, picking up ideas, riffing on them, always pushing the boundaries of what etching can do. It's about the possibilities of lines and form, and how just a few well-placed marks can evoke an entire world.