Etikhove 1926

Lodewijk Schelfhout etched this landscape titled 'Etikhove'. The strong linear marks create a scene, a place, but also a feeling. I can imagine Schelfhout working on this plate, the scratching and cross-hatching slowly revealing the image. There's a kind of quiet intimacy. Look at that tree, how it dominates the foreground! The branches reach out like arms. Maybe Schelfhout felt a connection to that tree, a sense of shared resilience. The etching brings the scene to life. The buildings in the distance almost feel like thoughts, or memories. Schelfhout's been part of this extended conversation that all artists are having across time.