Koe in een weiland 1867 - 1935

Maurits van der Valk made this etching, "Cow in a Meadow," sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century, using delicate lines to capture the essence of rural life. You can really see van der Valk thinking through the process of mark-making here. Look at the way he renders the cow's form; it's all these little scratches and hatches, building up volume and shadow. The lines are so simple, yet they describe so much. The texture almost feels like you could reach out and touch the rough hide. It’s interesting how he uses density of line to create depth, suggesting the mass of the animal against the flatness of the field. It makes me think of other printmakers like Whistler, who were playing with similar ideas of tonal range and atmospheric perspective. Art's all about this conversation, you know? Different artists, different times, riffing off each other, exploring what it means to see and feel the world.