Haven van Bergen op Zoom bij laag water c. 1884

Carel Nicolaas Storm van 's-Gravesande created this etching of the port of Bergen op Zoom. The composition of this print is carefully structured around horizontal bands of land, water and sky. The artist employs line and texture to evoke a sense of spatial depth and atmospheric perspective. Look closely at how the dark, dense marks in the foreground gradually lighten as they recede towards the horizon, creating an illusion of distance. The etching technique, with its fine lines and tonal variations, captures the subtle gradations of light on water and the textured surfaces of the clouds above. The composition destabilizes any fixed point of view to evoke feelings of tranquility and contemplation. Notice the delicate balance between representation and abstraction, the tension between the real and the imagined. It invites us to question our perceptions and appreciate the beauty of impermanence.