Horse Market in Algiers 1925

Paul-Albert Besnard made this etching, Horse Market in Algiers, with ink on paper. It’s like a flurry of marks, a dance of dark lines on a light ground, the process laid bare. Look at how Besnard scratches into the surface. The etching feels immediate, like he’s capturing a fleeting moment, a snapshot of energy and chaos. It’s all about texture, the way the lines cluster together to form shadows, the way they scatter to suggest movement. There's a horse in the front, its body built up with these tiny, insistent strokes. See how the lines aren’t precious or refined? They’re raw, almost violent, like he’s wrestling the image onto the page. The mass of etched lines almost makes me think of the work of Käthe Kollwitz. This piece isn’t about perfection or polish. It’s about process. It's about the messy, beautiful struggle of bringing an image to life.