The New Rhine 1910

Editor: Here we have Joseph Pennell's 1910 etching, "The New Rhine," housed at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. It's quite striking how he captures this industrialized river scene... the smoke almost feels oppressive. I am very curious about it; What do you see in this piece? Curator: Ah, Pennell! He was so wonderfully romantic about the grittiest bits of industry. This piece to me reads as a testament to that strange marriage between progress and pollution. Do you notice how the delicate etching lines contrast with the monumental scale of the factories? There's beauty here, certainly, but tinged with a certain… unease. Does that resonate with you? Editor: I think I do. It’s beautiful, yet it definitely makes you wonder about the environmental impact, you know? The title, "The New Rhine"... is he comparing this river to the actual Rhine, which has such a historical and romantic legacy? Curator: Precisely! Pennell loved playing with those ironies. Perhaps he’s suggesting America is forging its own industrial identity, reshaping the landscape, almost challenging Europe, even if it comes at a cost. It makes you ponder, what legacies are we building now? Editor: It really does make you think about progress and at what expense it happens. I never thought I'd describe smoke stacks as... poetic, but Pennell somehow pulls it off. Curator: Right? He forces us to find a certain poetry in places we might initially find desolation. And to reflect; he helps us to reflect on who we are, or perhaps who we are in danger of becoming, by choosing to do so. Editor: Well, I am definitely glad I had a closer look at it! Thanks so much for this great perspective. Curator: Absolutely! Art like this... it stays with you, doesn’t it? Offering a slightly sooty mirror to our own world.