Asvasbl before 1938

Editor: We’re looking at "Asvasbl," an etching by Jo Bezaan from before 1938, currently held in the Rijksmuseum. The subject seems to be a European cityscape, and the limited use of gray tones gives a subdued, somber vibe. The geometric shapes, the houses, the mountains...it all feels carefully planned. What’s your initial take? Curator: The somber vibe grabs me too! Almost feels haunted, doesn't it? Bezaan is presenting a quiet town, but those almost violently geometric mountains looming in the background hint at a barely-suppressed tension, don't you think? Notice how the perspective lines are so strong they're almost aggressive, forcing your eye towards that slightly off-kilter church spire? It's like a distorted memory. How does it feel to you on a sensory level? Editor: That makes sense. It does feel uneasy, even a little claustrophobic. The way everything is rendered in these hard, angular lines definitely adds to that feeling. What do you think Bezaan was trying to express with this particular style? Curator: Perhaps the anxieties of the pre-war period creeping into an otherwise quaint scene? Or maybe the industrial revolution's starkness reshaping our experience of nature and community? The buildings look solid, enduring. Yet the landscape seems fractured. The effect is so thought provoking! Are you more drawn to the architecture or to the landscape? Editor: I think the contrast of the architecture and landscape gets my attention most. I hadn't really considered the historical context that way. Thanks, I'm viewing it very differently now. Curator: My pleasure. Sometimes it's less about answering questions, and more about finding interesting questions to ask. Keep questioning!