Twee boten op een Bretons strand 1928

Lodewijk Schelfhout made this print of two boats on a Breton beach with etching. It's all about process; about how a mark can evoke not just an image, but also a whole mood. The texture in this print is so interesting. The way the clouds are built up with these scratchy, almost nervous lines. They remind me of the way you might shade something quickly with a pencil. There's a beautiful contrast between the solid darks of the boats and rocks and the airy lightness of the sky. The details in the rockface, built up of careful marks, suggest a solid structure, but the waves in the background seem more ephemeral. It makes me think of Whistler, with his tonal harmonies and his focus on capturing a specific atmosphere, but Schelfhout's marks are much looser. He is unafraid to leave a little bit of mess, and in that mess, there's a real sense of life. Ultimately, what speaks to me is this piece's quiet ambiguity; how it invites us to linger, and to find our own meaning in its subtle play of light and shadow.