Rotterdam 1888 - 1931

Willem Adrianus Grondhout made this etching called Rotterdam. The composition is built up from delicate marks that swarm into focus. You can almost feel the artist at work, leaning over the plate, scratching and biting into the metal. The line varies so much. Some areas are dark and dense, others, light and airy. It seems to me that the artist is balancing these darks and lights in this work. I wonder if Grondhout knew the work of Whistler, and if he thought about the prints of the Japanese ukiyo-e masters, all those artists who found modern life in the city so compelling! These artists were deeply engaged in a conversation with one another. Each mark, each line, can communicate feeling. This form of expression embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations.