Amiens from the Somme 1908

This is Joseph Pennell’s “Amiens from the Somme,” an etching, so made with acid on a metal plate, then printed on paper. You can really see the line here, like a pen drawing, but somehow the lines are also soft and gauzy. Look at how the marks cluster together, to make dark areas, which then create these lovely impressions of buildings. But then, notice how much is left undone! It's a useful reminder that the artist isn't trying to copy something, but rather to give you the feeling of being there, and seeing it all through their eyes. I keep looking at that blurry, smudgy tower in the background. It doesn’t seem quite there, but it gives the whole image a focal point, a distant idea to ponder. It feels a bit like James McNeill Whistler, who also used etching to give impressions of places, rather than hard facts. In the end, art isn't really about the thing itself, but how we feel about it.