Gezicht op de Drommedaris te Enkhuizen 1912

This is Wijnand Otto Jan Nieuwenkamp’s ‘Gezicht op de Drommedaris te Enkhuizen,’ made using etching. I love the all-over-ness of etching, how it allows for a real sense of density in a piece. There's something so charming in the way Nieuwenkamp translates the scene into linear form, using hatching to create tonal variation. Look at the way the lines build up to describe the cylindrical form of the tower. The shadows feel like they are more about the graphic qualities of the mark than an attempt to be accurate. There's a real tension created by the contrast between the busyness of the foreground and the relative emptiness of the sky. Nieuwenkamp was an important figure in the Dutch etching revival, and you can see the influence of earlier figures like Hercules Segers in his close attention to detail. But there is also a sense of play here, an artist allowing himself to get lost in the process.