Winterse havenkade 1885 - 1931

Frederika Henriëtte Broeksmit made this small etching, a winter harbor scene, using a plate and acid, pulling the image from her mind. The image is predominantly rendered in shades of black and white, capturing a cold atmosphere. I imagine Broeksmit feeling the cold on her hands as she worked on this. Look at the density of marks. See how they create a sense of a heavy sky, a damp atmosphere. There's something about the starkness of the scene – the way the figures are hunched, the horse weary, the bare trees – that feels like it's reaching out, trying to say something about the lives of ordinary people and the beauty that can be found, even in the harshest conditions. Broeksmit and her contemporaries were in an ongoing conversation across time, inspiring each other's creativity. I think of artists like Käthe Kollwitz, who also captured working people’s lives. Ambiguity is embraced, allowing for multiple interpretations.