Kathedraal te Rouen 1903

Donald Shaw MacLaughlan made this print, Kathedraal te Rouen, in an unknown year with etching. I imagine MacLaughlan, bending over the plate, carefully drawing with a needle to create this very fine web of lines. You know, it’s like he is trying to capture not just the cathedral but the whole feeling of the place. The tower soars, so high. You can see him, squinting, trying to get all that detail down, but also letting some of it dissolve into a blurry atmosphere. It reminds me of Whistler's prints of Venice, where it’s not just about showing what's there but about mood and light. I wonder if MacLaughlan was thinking about those prints when he made this. Artists are always in conversation, aren't they? Seeing what others have done and then pushing it further, trying to say something new with the same old tools. It’s an etching, but it feels like a painting, a real impression of a place and a moment.