Vaart met sluis 1892 - 1928

This is a beautiful, small etching of a lock on a canal by Johannes Löhr. Look at how he made it! The image shimmers with tiny hatch marks, creating light and shadow from a silvery ink. In the lower right corner, notice the boat, rendered with all these little lines. It’s so detailed, but also dissolving into the watery scene! Löhr understood the power of suggestion. By focusing on texture and light, he creates a sense of mood, a quiet moment by the water. It reminds me of Whistler's etchings of the Thames, or maybe even some of those mysterious Barbizon school landscapes. There is something so delicate about how an artist can say so much with very little. It’s not about the ‘thing’ itself, but about how it feels.