Rivier de Loloan op Bali Possibly 1907 - 1916

This small etching of the Loloan River in Bali was made by Wijnand Otto Jan Nieuwenkamp. It's all about the marks for me, the way he’s built up these tiny, scratchy lines to create a whole world. Look closely, and you can see how Nieuwenkamp used different densities of lines to suggest depth and texture. The dense, dark hatching in the foreground pulls us in, while the lighter, more open areas create a sense of distance. It’s almost like he’s weaving a visual tapestry. Notice the tree on the right, its canopy a mass of scribbled marks, somehow feeling both solid and ethereal. The river itself is rendered with these clean, horizontal lines, giving it a sense of calm and flow. And then, in the background, those soft, hazy mountains, barely there, but essential to the composition. It reminds me of the prints of Hercules Segers, in the way he creates these imaginary landscapes. It's not about realism, but about atmosphere, and the magic that happens when ink meets paper.