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

This is "Stallen met paarden op de plantage Gambar te Java" made by Willem Witsen, it's a monochromatic print of a rural scene in Java. Look at these tiny, tiny marks creating a scene out of almost nothing. The artist really committed to the details of the landscape, and maybe to the feeling of being there too. You can see him, with his needle, etching the image in stages, working through the light and shadow. I wonder if Witsen felt a connection to the horses, maybe even saw himself in them, stuck on this plantation. It's a quiet, thoughtful piece, but look at the contrast between the dark foliage and the bright stable, it must have taken so much concentration to pull that off. The print is of a stable with horses, but it's also about the act of seeing, thinking, and feeling. It's like Witsen is asking us to slow down, to really look at the world around us, and to find beauty in the everyday. Artists are always looking, seeing, and reinterpreting each other's ideas.