Rainy Night, Charing Cross Shops 1903

Joseph Pennell made this etching of Charing Cross in London, with all its rainy, shop-lined streets, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. I can imagine him, huddled under an awning, squinting at the scene, his mind racing to capture the essence of this rainy night. Look at how he scratched those tiny, nervous lines into the plate – like rain itself, slashing down. I can almost feel the slick cobblestones under my feet, the cold dampness seeping into my shoes. He manages to turn something kind of bleak into something beautiful, capturing the mood of the city with his marks. It reminds me of Whistler, and the whole gang of painters and printmakers at that time, all trying to capture a feeling, not just a picture. It's like Pennell is asking, what does it feel like to be here, now? And that's what makes it sing.