Havenkade met lantaarnpalen in Rotterdam 1888 - 1934

Willem Adrianus Grondhout made this etching of Havenkade met lantaarnpalen in Rotterdam. Look at the sky. See the direction of the marks, like a flurry of thoughts captured in ink? For me that's art, a process, the artist thinking through mark-making. There's a real physicality to the medium, isn't there? The way the etching captures the texture of the city. See how the light catches on the wet ground? It's all in those tiny, deliberate lines, a delicate balance of light and shadow. The lamp posts are almost ghostly, aren't they? They guide your eye through the scene. Grondhout reminds me of Whistler, especially those hazy, dreamlike cityscapes. It's like they're both trying to capture a fleeting moment, a mood. It's not about perfection. It's about feeling.