Stallen met paarden op de plantage Gambar te Java c. 1921

Willem Witsen made this print, "Stables with horses on the Gambar plantation in Java", with etching. The whole thing is a study in blacks and whites and grays, like watching the world through a screen. The texture! You can almost feel the dryness of the paper and the bite of the etched lines. Look at the way Witsen captures the dappled light filtering through the trees; it's like he's not just showing us a scene, but the very act of seeing itself. The lines are rough, almost haphazard, but they come together to form a cohesive image. Think of Whistler, another printmaker, but maybe with a touch more grit. I love how this piece is so specific – a horse farm in Java – yet it feels universal. It reminds us that art is always a conversation, a way of seeing and interpreting the world around us.