The Perambulator 1916

Editor: This etching, "The Perambulator," was created in 1916 by Joseph Pennell. It has a smoky, almost dreamlike quality, despite depicting what looks like an industrial scene. The details fade into darkness. What draws you in when you look at this print? Curator: It’s that dance between industry and impression, isn’t it? The print breathes. The heavy machinery seems to soften, veiled by atmosphere. It feels like peering into a memory. Pennell has taken something brutally functional and rendered it…dare I say, romantic. Do you get a sense of history humming beneath the surface? Editor: Absolutely. It’s not just a factory; it’s like a stage set, a backdrop for something epic. The high-contrast evokes a sense of foreboding. Given the date, 1916, could this industrial scene also be an indication of what it was like during World War I? Curator: Precisely. The First World War was a turning point, and industry was feeding that machine of conflict. Pennell's print is far from a propaganda piece, it feels more contemplative. As though it were weighing the cost of progress. Look how the aquatint creates shadows like smoke and smudges like ash! What do you see in the title "The Perambulator," how is this playing on something? Editor: It’s ironic, right? Perambulators suggest leisure, innocence, perhaps even beauty. It’s contrasting that very notion with the grimy reality of industrial might, where things are anything but tender or idle. Curator: Exactly! It's a masterful juxtaposition, and reveals much. Now when I see this print, I am haunted by the fragility and the fury in the dance of that period. Editor: That’s beautifully put. I’ll never look at an industrial scene the same way. Thanks.