Tafel met opengeslagen boek 1877 - 1950

Barbara Elisabeth van Houten made this print, "Tafel met opengeslagen boek", whose translation is "Table with open book", using etching. It's all about the cross hatching! It's amazing how much information you can get with a pile of simple marks. There's a real love of texture here. It's all tonal, so your eye roams around trying to figure out the scene, with the book as the source of light in the composition. The texture is the story, and it's a story of someone just pottering around in their space. I'm reminded of the Dutch masters, Rembrandt especially, who also used etching to create interior scenes from everyday life. Both artists embrace the ambiguity and multiple interpretations of everyday life. They're saying, "Come in, the door's open."