To Gentilly 1910

Auguste-Louis Lepère made this etching called, "To Gentilly" and it's a whole world rendered in the humblest of means, black ink on white paper. Look at how he's built up the forms using only tiny, energetic lines. There's something so direct about an etching; you can really see the artist’s hand in the process. The texture is all there – the scratch of the needle, the bite of the acid. The way Lepère uses hatching to create depth is really beautiful, particularly in the shadows under the trees. Notice how the lines become more frenetic, more dense, building up a rich darkness. It gives the whole scene a kind of vibrating energy. I'm reminded of the prints of Whistler. But where Whistler is often about mood and atmosphere, Lepère seems more interested in capturing the specific details of a place, the way light falls on the leaves, the way people relax in the shade. And that's something that speaks to me. Art isn't about answers. It’s about the questions we ask, and the conversations we have along the way.