Bridge at Charlottenburg 1921

Joseph Pennell made this drawing, Bridge at Charlottenburg, with pencil on paper. It's all these really quick, kind of nervous lines. You can almost see him sketching quickly. It's so free and immediate, it almost looks like he’s pulled the image straight out of his head. I can imagine Pennell standing there, maybe a bit cold, trying to capture the scene before the light changes or he loses the feeling. Was he thinking about Whistler, or maybe some old etching techniques? It's amazing how he suggests the bulk of those buildings with so few strokes, and then all those tiny figures! It must have been a real challenge to get the perspective right, to make it all hang together. It reminds me that every mark we make is part of this long conversation between artists. We’re always borrowing, stealing, and riffing off each other. That’s how art stays alive!