The Park Gate c. 1903 - 1906

Joseph Pennell made this etching, titled The Park Gate, with ink on paper. You know, the thing that grabs me first is how Pennell coaxes so much detail out of such a sparse palette. Look at the way he renders the facade of the buildings, all those tiny, precise lines creating depth and texture. It's almost architectural in its precision, yet there's a looseness, an impressionistic quality, to the trees and figures in the foreground. It reminds me of how a painter might build up layers of color, slowly revealing the form. It's all about the process, I think – the push and pull between control and chance. Makes me think of Whistler, actually, another master of understated elegance. Both artists were able to turn simple etching into a profound statement. It shows how art embraces ambiguity.