Plein bij avond 1889

Editor: Here we have "Plein bij avond," or "Square at Evening," an etching by Willem Steelink II, from 1889. It's a cityscape, rendered in incredibly moody shades of gray. There's something so still and somber about it. What catches your eye when you look at this print? Curator: The mood is perfect, isn't it? It's not just a scene; it’s a feeling, a breath held in the twilight. For me, it's about that solitary figure in the foreground – almost like a whisper in the dark. And have you considered how Steelink used the etching technique itself to enhance the atmospheric effect, all those tiny, scratchy lines? Editor: It's almost blurry; was that on purpose? Curator: Absolutely! That "blurriness" softens the hard edges of the city and heightens the romantic feeling. The Impressionists were just beginning to play with how light and atmosphere could evoke pure emotion. Does it feel more like a specific place, or a memory to you? Editor: A memory, definitely. Almost like something from a dream. Curator: Precisely! He is not giving us crystal-clear detail; he's giving us the poetry of a place. These weren’t just documents of the real world; they were about evoking a response within the viewer, weren't they? Editor: Definitely gives a new layer to the name. I always thought about squares to be kind of static spaces, but this one seems ever-shifting, if that makes sense. Curator: It does! And I love the way it leaves us with more questions than answers – that’s always the mark of a good piece.