Sint-Pietersbasiliek before 1931

Etienne Bosch etched ‘Sint-Pietersbasiliek’ sometime before 1933, using a copper plate to create this delicate print. Bosch's approach is all about process, isn't it? The image is built up through a network of fine lines, a veritable thicket of marks. Up close, these lines have a real physicality, a tactile quality that invites you to trace their paths with your fingers. Notice the way the light catches the surface of the water, the subtle gradations of tone that suggest depth and movement. It’s like Bosch is using the etching needle to conduct a kind of drawing performance. I love how the basilica looms in the background like a dream. This reminds me of Piranesi, who also used etching to capture a sense of the sublime. But where Piranesi's etchings are grand and imposing, Bosch's is intimate, almost tentative. It’s like he’s inviting us to enter into a quiet conversation with the city, a conversation that’s open-ended and full of possibility.