The White Palace 1925

James McBey made this etching called, 'The White Palace.' It's all about the process, isn't it? The artist probably spent ages on this, but it feels so light. The lines are so delicate. I can almost hear the scratching of the needle on the plate. Look at that building on the right. It's like it's crumbling, but in a beautiful way. The lines are so raw, so immediate. It's like he's capturing a moment in time, a fleeting glimpse of Venice. And the water! It's just a series of horizontal lines, but it totally works. You can feel the gentle movement of the canal, the reflections of the buildings. I love how he's left so much space, so much emptiness. It's not about filling every inch of the paper, it's about suggestion. It's like he's saying, "Here's a starting point, now you fill in the rest." It reminds me a bit of Whistler's etchings, that same sense of atmosphere. But McBey has his own thing going on. It's less studied, more spontaneous. It's a conversation, this art thing, always going back and forth.