Veere 1917

Lodewijk Schelfhout etched ‘Veere’ in 1917, and it’s an atmospheric little piece that draws you right in. I love the way the light pours down from the sky, almost like a divine spotlight on this quiet Dutch scene. There's this winding path that leads your eye into the distance, past fields of dense hatching, toward a windmill and the faint silhouette of the town. I imagine Schelfhout hunched over his plate, carefully incising each line to build up the image, responding to what was emerging. Maybe he was thinking about the great tradition of Dutch landscape painting, like Ruysdael or Rembrandt, but doing his own thing, more modern, more graphic. The bare branches of the tree frame the composition, adding a touch of melancholy, or maybe just a bit of drama. It reminds me of the way artists through time have used nature not just as scenery, but as a way to express feelings, explore ideas, and find their place in the world.