Brugje in Katwijk 1888 - 1934

Here's this little etching of a bridge in Katwijk by Willem Adrianus Grondhout. I love to imagine the artist standing there, squinting at the scene, trying to capture the light glinting off the water, and the sturdy wooden bridge, probably with acid and a metal plate. It's so cool how Grondhout’s mark-making gives us a sense of the scene. Like the little scratches and lines for the ripples in the water. It makes me think of Whistler, or maybe some of the other etchers of the time, all trying to capture the feeling of a place with these tiny, delicate marks. There's a real sense of atmosphere. It looks pretty gray, maybe a little gloomy, I wonder what it was like to be there, drawing in the cold. It’s not just about showing you what a bridge looks like, but also about how that bridge feels – solid and still – in the middle of a place that's always changing. And that’s what makes you want to look at art, right? To feel something real, and true?