From the Station to the Hotel 1919

Joseph Pennell pulled this etching, "From the Station to the Hotel, N.Y.", using ink on paper. Look at how the composition balances this tension between definition and the dissolution of forms into a kind of atmospheric haze. You can almost feel the city breathing, right? The texture is fascinating. Pennell's lines are so delicate, yet they build up to create a sense of depth and volume. Notice the upper section, there is a cloud and a blimp. The cloud is more defined than the blimp. How the lines of the buildings seem to dissolve into the sky, giving the whole scene this ephemeral quality. It's like he's captured a fleeting moment, a memory fading at the edges. It reminds me a bit of Whistler's nocturnes, with that same interest in capturing the mood and atmosphere of a scene rather than just the details. You know, it all makes you think about art as this ongoing conversation between artists, each one building on what came before.