Ruiter te paard bij een stad op een heuvel 1942

Lodewijk Schelfhout etched this print, *Ruiter te paard bij een stad op een heuvel*, with a dry needle. Look at the freedom of the marks! The lines aren't just descriptive; they're alive, almost vibrating with energy. The beauty of a print like this lies in its textures. The needle scratches directly into the plate, creating a burr that catches the ink, resulting in a velvety, almost three-dimensional line. Notice how the sky is rendered with these close, hatched lines, creating a moody, atmospheric depth in contrast to the crisp lines of the architecture. This is drawing with light as much as with line. Take, for example, the trees framing the left side of the image; see how Schelfhout builds up the foliage with a tangle of short, broken strokes. It’s these details that give the print its unique character. I think of Piranesi and his architectural prints. Schelfhout embraces a similarly subjective interpretation of space and form, reminding us that art is about seeing the world, not just recording it.