Amoureux Sur Un Banc 1902

This etching by Théophile Alexandre Steinlen captures a couple embracing on a bench in an ambiguous time and place. What strikes me first is the mark-making: those delicate, almost scribbled lines creating a world of shadows. It’s like Steinlen is thinking through the image, letting the process itself guide the mood. The texture here is fascinating. The velvety darkness of the ink gives the scene a hazy, dreamlike quality. Look closely at how the lines build up, especially around the streetlights and the figures. There’s a real tension between the detail and the overall obscurity. That small detail is so evocative! It’s like a tiny window into a fleeting moment of human connection. Steinlen reminds me a little of Käthe Kollwitz, another artist who used printmaking to explore themes of social realism and human emotion. But where Kollwitz is often stark and confrontational, Steinlen has a softer, more romantic touch. Both artists understood that art isn't about easy answers, but about embracing the messy, unresolved questions of life.