Calle Mayor Alcalá c. 1903

Joseph Pennell made this etching of Calle Mayor Alcalá, using delicate lines to create atmosphere. Look at how the tones shift from dark to light, creating depth and suggesting the glare of the sun on the buildings. The texture is smooth but alive with tiny variations, almost like a memory of a place rather than a photo. The whole scene is rendered in a muted palette of blacks, greys and whites. See how the artist defines the architectural details with very fine, precise lines, and then uses smudging to create areas of shadow. Notice the way the artist’s hand moves across the plate, the image is almost vanishing in places. Pennell reminds me of Whistler, another etcher who was interested in finding the extraordinary in the everyday. Like a conversation carried on over time, each artist builds on the other's ideas, finding new ways to see and interpret the world.