Gezicht op ruïnes in Post Street, San Francisco c. 1915 - 1919

Willem Witsen made this etching, Gezicht op ruïnes in Post Street, San Francisco, with ink on paper, and it's just a little bigger than a sheet of A4. I love how the monochromatic palette makes you feel the dust, and the scratchy marks describe the textures of broken bricks and rubble so well. It's as if he's sifting through the debris with his needle, trying to piece together what's been lost. The composition is also super interesting, with this kind of ruined proscenium arch in the middle ground, like a stage set for some post-apocalyptic drama. Look closely, and you see how the archway in the center mirrors the shape of the print itself, a frame within a frame. This reminds me a lot of Piranesi, the 18th-century printmaker who was obsessed with Roman ruins. Both artists find a kind of beauty in decay, and a reminder that everything is temporary. And, like Piranesi, Witsen shows that art is never really finished, but always changing, always being reinterpreted by new eyes.