Sneeuwlandschap met bospad c. 1908

This subtle, muted etching of a snow landscape with a forest path was made by Willem Witsen. Look at the path, a winding dark form cut through the snow. I imagine Witsen working on the metal plate, scratching and biting into it with acid, building up the image line by line. What must it have been like to stand in that snow and capture the dark line of a wintry track? I wonder what he was thinking about; what sort of conversations did he have in his head, between his imagination and the world? The trees are like thin dark lines that are woven around the edge of the clearing, anchoring the eye. The way the snow lies on the path it is as if the landscape has been brushed by the wind. Painters are constantly responding to the history of painting, and as artists, we are all involved in this dance through time, inspiring one another to see and feel and think. I am reminded that paintings are not so much fixed objects, but rather ongoing conversations.