Vondelpark in de winter 1914

Bernard Essers made this etching of the Vondelpark sometime in his career, using a pretty tight and controlled approach to mark-making. It's all about the lines, the little hatches, building up tone to create an image in monochrome. What I find interesting here is the way Essers renders texture using line. Look at the trees, the way he suggests the roughness of bark or the thinness of branches, all through the density and direction of etched lines. It’s like he's trying to describe not just what he sees, but how it feels to be in this wintry park, the cold air, the crisp snow underfoot. There’s a figure leading a horse, a slash of light on the snow. Each mark feels deliberate, carefully placed. It kinda reminds me of Käthe Kollwitz, not so much in style, but in the intense observation and emotional connection to the subject. Both artists share that ability to evoke a mood, a feeling of place, using the simplest of means. Art's a conversation across time, after all, a constant back-and-forth of ideas and influences.