Schip met brandhout aan de oever van de Ganges in Benares 1915

Wijnand Otto Jan Nieuwenkamp made this etching of a ship with firewood on the banks of the Ganges in Benares. Have you ever etched? It's a process of focused looking, drawing, and redrawing. The image has to emerge from all the tiny marks, like a photograph developing in a darkroom. And then you get to make lots of prints! I bet Nieuwenkamp enjoyed seeing the image multiply. I imagine him thinking of the old masters, Canaletto or Piranesi. Their prints were affordable and portable, like postcards, spreading ideas. Etching isn't like painting, where every gesture is unique. In printmaking, there's a built-in conversation, as images circulate, get remade, and find new meanings. That's how artists keep talking to each other, across time and place.