Old Million Eyes 1909

This is Joseph Pennell's etching, "Old Million Eyes." The whole scene is rendered with tight little lines, like a nervous energy held in check. The buildings climb the mountain, a jumble of angles and repeating windows. "Old Million Eyes," he calls it, and I imagine Pennell hunched over the plate, meticulously scratching each line, each window a tiny observation. I wonder what he felt about this place. Was it awe, faced with the scale of industry, or something darker? There’s a certain bleakness to the scene. The tracks curve, leading somewhere, but the air is still and heavy. It makes me think about Piranesi and his prisons – spaces that are meant to serve a function becoming unsettling. In the end, Pennell created a work with layers of feeling and questioning. And that's the thing about art, isn't it? One creative act inspires another, and the conversation keeps going.