Gezicht op Charing Cross Bridge in Londen 1890

Curator: Immediately striking is its somber, almost dreamlike quality. A monochrome wash, punctuated by strong verticals... heavy. Editor: This etching is entitled "View of Charing Cross Bridge in London" created around 1890 by Willem Witsen, now housed in the Rijksmuseum. Curator: The bridge looms—it is more presence than structure. Its solidity casts these beautiful, dancing reflections, mirroring its weight upon the water. The tonal range is masterful, considering its seeming simplicity. Editor: Considering it an etching produced in the late 19th century, London itself represents a hub of immense cultural shift. Industrial expansion, colonial influence, an epicenter of art. That bridge surely functioned as both connector and symbol. Curator: And doesn’t the bridge evoke a feeling of transience and transition? I'm especially drawn to how the artist conveys not only a physical location, but a feeling, an almost premonitory sense of societal change in the era. What appears solid, the bridge, is, after all, in perpetual transformation under different conditions. Editor: One could delve deeper and ponder if its hazy rendering speaks to memory and the artist’s subjective impression rather than a literal recording of what was seen. It also appears that he paid specific attention to water’s mutable form to suggest some form of flux in a city experiencing profound changes. Curator: An astute point. This city exists, rendered forever in time through Witsen’s etching, at a crossroads—literal and metaphorical. Editor: Perhaps what resonated for me is that Witsen, the craftsman of line and tone, reveals an enduring symbol of a rapidly evolving landscape.