Reproductie van een prent of tekening met gezicht op een oud huis, mogelijk te Greiz in Duitsland 1932

Gustav Digel made this print of what is possibly an old house in Greiz, Germany. Look at how he's built up the image with all these tiny, scratchy marks. It’s a slow process, like building a house brick by brick, but here he’s building it line by line. I love the way the walls kind of tremble. See those little windows, all wonky and slightly misaligned? There is a looseness in the mark-making which makes the whole scene feel alive, like the building is breathing. The tonality is subtle, almost entirely grayscale, and the image shimmers and dissolves, like it’s caught between dream and reality. The roofline looks almost gothic, like an illustration from a storybook. It reminds me a little of Piranesi, although without all the drama. Both artists share a fascination with architecture, and an interest in the way that the built environment can evoke emotion and atmosphere. Ultimately, art is like a conversation, artists riffing off one another, and building something new from what’s come before.