Efterårslandskab 1908 - 1912

This is an etching of a landscape, made by Holger Valdemar Rasmussen Magaard. You can see the fine lines which define the shapes of the trees, the field, and the sky. I can imagine him in the studio, bent over the metal plate, carefully layering line over line. There's such a calmness here, and a quiet focus. What was he thinking, I wonder, as he made each mark? Was he lost in the memory of the landscape, or fully present with the acid biting into the metal, controlling it, coaxing it? Look at the way the tree bends, it’s an old tree, stubborn but graceful in the face of the wind, still bearing leaves. This image reminds me a little of Rembrandt’s landscapes, I can see the same kind of attention to the ordinary. Artists like Magaard and Rembrandt help us to see the beauty and the subtle drama of the world around us. They show us how to pay attention, how to find meaning in the everyday. Painting is an ongoing conversation, and they’re all part of it.