The Dark Canal, Venice 1908

This etching, The Dark Canal, Venice, by Donald Shaw MacLaughlan, feels like a captured moment, a fleeting impression rendered with incredible detail. There's a real sense of process here, of the artist working and reworking the plate, letting the medium guide the image. The canal itself is a dark, reflective presence, but it’s the textures that really get me. Look at the building on the right; the brickwork seems to dissolve into a haze of tiny, etched lines. See how they build up dense areas of shadow, the light catching the buildings on the opposite bank. And then there are these tiny flecks of light, like stars in the inky blackness, achieved by wiping the plate with a cloth to reveal the white of the paper below. It reminds me of Piranesi’s architectural fantasies. Though MacLaughlan is more subtle. Ultimately, it's about a feeling, a mood. It invites you to slow down, to get lost in the details, and to find your own Venice in its shadows.