Gezicht op het stadhuis van Brussel, gezien door een smalle straat before 1909

V.C. Andrigo made this depiction of the Town Hall of Brussels as seen through a narrow street using engraving. Look at all those lines! So many tiny, close together lines, all pushing against one another to give weight to those buildings. I can almost feel Andrigo's hand cramping as he etched each line with such care. The artist must have stood on that cobbled street, squinting up, trying to capture the overwhelming height of the Town Hall in the distance. The buildings on either side seem to lean in, as if conspiring to hide its grandeur. It reminds me of Piranesi's etchings of Rome, where every stone and shadow tells a story. I wonder if Andrigo felt a similar sense of awe and mystery. It’s all about artists riffing off each other, isn’t it? Making pictures to make sense of the world, one tiny line at a time.