Begroeiing in de tuin van Hotel Bellevue in Buitenzorg c. 1921

Willem Witsen made this print of the garden of Hotel Bellevue with etching. The longer I look at this, the more I feel like I’m getting lost in the foliage. Witsen really captures the lushness of the garden with these intricate lines. I can imagine him, sitting in the garden, squinting in the sunlight, translating all that green into black and white. What a transformation! And you know, etching is all about that transformation. It's not just about drawing what you see, it's about finding a way to suggest the texture of leaves, the density of the air. I love how Witsen's marks are so full of life. It's like the garden is breathing right there on the page. I wonder what Witsen was thinking about as he worked on this piece. Was he just trying to capture the beauty of the garden, or was he also trying to say something about our relationship to nature, or the experience of being somewhere far from home? Maybe it's a little of all those things. That's what I love about art, the way it invites us to bring our own thoughts and feelings to the table.