The Walls of Siena 1923

Henry Rushbury made this etching, The Walls of Siena, using the same techniques Rembrandt and Goya used. Imagine the artist carefully scraping away at the metal plate to create a network of lines, and then submerging the plate in acid, again and again, to deepen the marks. I wonder, when Rushbury stood before those ancient walls in Italy, did he see the deep history held within? Did he want to capture a sense of permanence? The marks are dense, almost vibrating, and they give the buildings a monumental quality, while also hinting at a kind of decay. There’s a push and pull, an ambiguity between solid and fragile. And that’s where the beauty lies for me. Artists have always looked to the past, learning from those who came before, absorbing their lessons, and then pushing forward. In this print, I see the echoes of history, not just in the subject matter but also in the artist's touch.