Munition Works 1916

Joseph Pennell made this print, Munition Works, at an unknown date using etching. It’s kind of like a delicate dance of dark and light here, isn't it? Pennell uses these tiny, nervous lines to build up the image. Look at how he’s layered them to create depth, especially in the smokestacks. The way the ink sits on the page, it almost feels like you could reach out and touch the gritty texture of the industrial landscape. Focus on how the smoke billows from the chimneys, those marks aren't just about depicting smoke, they’re about the energy and the relentlessness of industry. It’s a controlled chaos, a push and pull between representation and abstraction. Pennell's work reminds me a bit of Whistler's, in that both artists captured the mood and atmosphere of their environments using subtle tonal variations.