Duinachtig landschap 1905

Heinrich Reifferscheid made this etching of a Dutch landscape, called Duinachtig landschap, meaning Dune Landscape, and I'm curious about its gentle touch. The image seems to emerge from the paper, the lines so fine they're almost whispers. It’s interesting to consider the labour involved in etching, which feels at odds with the delicacy of the image. It’s all about mark-making as process, a real investment of time and labor to create a vision of quiet space. Notice the horizon line, a subtle division between earth and sky. The trees and foliage are rendered with incredible detail considering the scale, but it is the open plain in the foreground that dominates the composition. Think of someone like Agnes Martin, who wasn't afraid to embrace quietude. In this piece, Reifferscheid invites us to find the extraordinary in the ordinary, reminding us that art can be a form of meditation, a space for quiet contemplation.