Wandelaars bij een molen bij Wijk bij Duurstede c. 1906

Willem Witsen made this etching, ‘Wandelaars bij een molen bij Wijk bij Duurstede’, using line to describe tone and texture. It’s a process of building up darks and lights from simple marks, a bit like the way we assemble a picture in our heads from snippets of information. Look closely, and you'll see how the density of the lines changes to suggest light and shadow. The windmill looms, solid and dark, while the sky is a softer, almost smudged texture. There is a real feeling of atmosphere in this print, and it reminds me a little of Whistler’s approach to tone. But what’s really interesting is how the artist captures a sense of place, not through perfect representation, but through suggestion. It’s as if he’s inviting us to complete the picture, to fill in the details with our own imagination. Like any good artwork, it embraces a certain ambiguity, allowing for multiple readings and interpretations.