Au Dormoir de Lantara Possibly 1908

Auguste-Louis Lepère made Au Dormoir de Lantara as an etching, and like many etchings, it's full of tiny, delicate lines that create this whole world. It's like he's whispering to us about the landscape. There's a real push and pull between darkness and light that gives the scene its mood. The trees, especially, have this incredible texture because of the way he layered the lines. If you look closely, you can see how the ink sits on the paper, almost like it's been built up in layers. The branches of the tree on the left reach out like fingers, and it feels almost spooky. Lepère reminds me a bit of Whistler, actually, in the way he captures a mood more than a literal scene. It's all about suggestion and feeling. Art doesn't have to shout to be powerful. Sometimes, it's the quiet ones that stay with you the longest.