Street in Villeneuve 1911

Hermann Lismann made this piece, Street in Villeneuve, with ink to bring a sense of the observed world onto paper. The restricted palette creates a very particular atmosphere. The use of neutral tones gives the image an understated feel, like a memory. The ink is laid down in fine lines, carefully hatched and cross-hatched to build up shadows and forms, but there's a looseness here, a sensitivity to the ink's own qualities. Take a look at the shadows defining the road, see how the artist allows the ink to pool, creating a granular texture. It reminds me of Piranesi’s etchings, where architecture is not just depicted, but felt, through the artist's hand. Lismann doesn't tell us what to think; he shows us how he sees, inviting us into his experience of this place.