Katwijk aan zee in de winter 1885 - 1931

Frederika Henriëtte Broeksmit made this etching called Katwijk aan zee in the winter. It's all about lines, like she's thinking through the image, scratching it out, finding her way. The texture is created by these simple marks, repeated and layered. You can almost feel the cold, the wind, the starkness of the winter landscape. Look how the artist uses the lines to suggest the movement of the snow, the shape of the dunes, the distant horizon, it's like she's weaving a visual tapestry. There's a beautiful tension between abstraction and representation. It reminds me of James Ensor's etchings – that same raw, expressive quality, a similar interest in capturing the everyday with a sense of humour. Both artists seem to be playing with the possibilities of the medium, pushing it to its limits, and inviting us to see the world in a new and unexpected way. Art is an ongoing dialogue across time, an exchange of ideas and influences, isn't it?