Stadsmuur met rondelen bij de Brusselse Poort te Maastricht 1830 - 1899

Alexander Schaepkens created this print of the Stadsmuur with rondelen bij de Brusselse Poort te Maastricht using etching. The architecture is rendered with close attention to line and texture, where the towers emerge as masses, their surfaces alive with the play of light and shadow. You will notice Schaepkens uses the etching technique to give a tactile quality to the stonework, suggesting the rough and weathered surfaces of the old fortifications. Consider how Schaepkens’ approach to composition draws on a semiotic system, where the architectural forms communicate stability and endurance. Yet, he is also playing with our perceptions. The towers loom, not as symbols of strength, but as silent witnesses to time's passage. The print invites us to contemplate how the artist destabilizes established meanings through close visual and structural analysis. It challenges the viewer to recognize the nuanced relationship between form and content, history and decay.