My Dream 1883

Rodolphe Bresdin created this etching titled "My Dream" with intricately worked lines on plate. The density of marks and layered patterns create a dense visual field of light and dark contrasts. The composition draws you into a world of fantasy and detail. In this print, Bresdin uses line to define form, but also to create texture and atmosphere. The high level of detail throughout the image, combined with a relatively limited tonal range, creates an otherworldly sense. There's a strong interplay between foreground and background, with a shifting sense of scale as the city and harbour extend into the distance. The formal complexity of the work suggests a challenge to traditional ways of seeing and representing space. Bresdin uses an elaborate language of signs which invite us to interpret not only the literal scene but also delve into its symbolic meanings. The dreamlike quality may destabilize familiar certainties and invite us to reconsider our understanding of reality itself.