Ponte Vecchio, Florence 1912

Muirhead Bone captured the Ponte Vecchio in Florence using etching, a printmaking technique involving acid to cut into a metal plate. Imagine Bone, carefully drawing into the wax ground, each line a deliberate choice to reveal this iconic cityscape. Look at the sky, those sketchy, restless lines – you can sense the atmosphere, the weight of the clouds. And then, those dense, scratchy marks that build up the towers and buildings, giving them such solidity. It’s like he’s feeling his way through the scene, line by line, trying to understand the weight and mass of the architecture. The thin, wiry lines feel so energetic, like he’s trying to capture not just the look of the city, but its very pulse. You can feel the artist really looking, engaging with the history and the weight of this place, just as other artists have done and will continue to do. It’s this conversation across time that makes art so endlessly fascinating, don’t you think?