Ingang van een haven 1887 - 1889

Curator: This etching by Carel Nicolaas Storm van 's-Gravesande, created between 1887 and 1889, is titled "Ingang van een haven," or "Entrance to a Harbor." It resides here at the Rijksmuseum. What’s your immediate impression? Editor: It feels melancholic. All soft greys and distant shapes. The line of that harbor entrance cutting right across, almost a border between something and nothing. Curator: Indeed. The use of etching gives it that quality, a softness achieved through finely scratched lines. And the composition certainly emphasizes boundaries. Harbors themselves are liminal spaces. In this work, the harbor is almost deserted except for a couple of tiny people standing on that dark spit of land in the foreground. How might we interpret this depiction of transitional space? Editor: To me, the whole piece feels pregnant with unspoken stories. Look at those boats—where are they headed? Or look at the distant figures on the breakwater. Their isolation…it hints at bigger things, possibilities, maybe even loneliness. The tones and gradations in etching really allow for shadow play and subtlety of suggestion, don't you think? Curator: Absolutely. And harbors are full of implied narratives and movements. Consider how ships throughout history have always carried ideas, innovations, as well as disease and colonial ambition from place to place. That sense of melancholy you felt? It's connected to those weighty legacies and the inherent tension in departures and arrivals. Storm van 's-Gravesande captures that historical memory, making it timeless and universally poignant. Editor: Timeless indeed. It’s strange, seeing something so seemingly simple elicit such complex thoughts. And, if I am really being honest, seeing that tiny, tiny person so far away really speaks to how alone we all really are at any given moment. Thanks for making me see beyond the simple seascape! Curator: And thank you for adding such a moving, human note to the discussion. I'll be lingering on this one all day!