Moonlit Interior c. 1936

Hobson Pittman made this print, Moonlit Interior, most likely in the mid-20th century. It looks to me as though it was made using a woodcut technique, where the artist would have carved away at a block of wood to leave the image standing proud. I imagine Pittman peering into the darkness trying to capture the scene. It’s like he is looking at a stage set, with the table arranged perfectly in front of the open window. There is such a clarity of vision here. I love how the black ink has pooled around the edges of some of the lines. Look at the base of the lamp, you can almost feel the pressure of his hand as he transferred the image onto paper. I always think of artists as being in conversation with each other across time, and I wonder if Pittman knew the work of Edvard Munch, particularly his interior scenes? Maybe artists are all just trying to capture the feeling of being alone in a room, with only our thoughts for company.