Molen aan het water bij Wijk bij Duurstede c. 1906

Willem Witsen made this etching, ‘Molen aan het water bij Wijk bij Duurstede,’ with ink on paper, and the tonality is just gorgeous. It’s all about the surface here, isn’t it? The ink is pressed into the paper, so the texture feels like it’s part of the image. Look closely, and you can almost feel the grain of the paper, adding to the depth of the scene. There is an area of deep darkness around the vague suggestion of some trees across the water, which the artist has used to really ground the image. It’s like a shadow, but it also feels like the foundation of the whole picture. Witsen reminds me a little of Whistler, who was similarly interested in surface and tone. Both found beauty in the everyday, in the quiet moments and subtle shifts of light. And both remind us that art isn’t just about what we see, but how we see it. It’s a conversation, a question, an invitation to look again.