Leiden 1888 - 1934

Willem Adrianus Grondhout etched 'Leiden' with a whole lotta cross-hatching and a real delicate touch. I can almost feel his hand moving across the plate, building up these wispy clouds and solid old windmills. The details are really beautiful. It makes me think about the whole history of printmaking and how it's all about capturing a moment, a scene, but doing it in a way that can be repeated, shared, sent around. I wonder if Grondhout ever imagined his image of Leiden would end up here, now, in the Rijksmuseum? It's funny to think about how artists are always building on what came before, picking up ideas, twisting them around, making them new again. I love the way you can see the influence of other artists in this piece, but it's still totally Grondhout's own thing. Painting's like that. It's an ongoing conversation, full of echoes and whispers, and it never really ends.