Gezicht op de Kraansluis in Amsterdam c. 1911

This tiny etching, Gezicht op de Kraansluis in Amsterdam, was made by Willem Witsen, and look at the way the ink just barely clings to the paper! It’s like he’s trying to catch a memory, a fleeting glimpse of the city. The physical quality of the print, that slight texture, makes it feel almost ghostly, like something seen through a fogged-up window. See that little shack on the water's edge? It's just a tangle of lines, but it feels so solid, so real. I love how Witsen doesn't try to smooth things out or make them perfect. This reminds me a lot of Whistler. Both artists were interested in capturing the atmosphere of a place, the feeling of being there, rather than just a literal depiction. It's that tension between clarity and ambiguity that makes it so compelling!