The Colliery Ruhrort Near Oberhausen 1910

Joseph Pennell made this etching of The Colliery Ruhrort Near Oberhausen sometime around the turn of the century. It's a scene thick with industry, but rendered with such a light touch. You can sense him, plate in hand, carefully etching these delicate lines. I imagine Pennell, sketchbook in tow, drawn to the sheer drama of the colliery, the smokestacks reaching skyward, the heaps of coal like dark, silent mountains. He must have been thinking about Whistler, those tonal arrangements, turning something gritty into something strangely beautiful. See how he uses these small, scratchy marks to create a sense of depth? It's not just a depiction of a factory, but an emotional landscape. Painters are always in conversation, aren't they? Each mark builds upon the last, a shared language across time. Pennell’s work here, it makes you wonder about the stories these factories could tell, the lives they touched, and how artists find beauty in the most unexpected places.