Amerongen 1888 - 1934

Willem Adrianus Grondhout made this print of Amerongen with etching. Look at how the marks are so tightly packed and dense in the lower right and how the lines become looser and fainter as your eye travels to the horizon line. For me, this is what etching is all about – it's an investigation into the process, isn’t it? The materiality of the print really shines through here. In the foreground, the etched lines feel like tactile, almost sculptural forms, and then they dissolve into the background. Take a look at the group of trees to the right; notice how the vertical lines give a sense of depth? This mark-making creates an emotional experience; the weight of the trees anchors the picture, while the subtle lines in the distance create a sense of the sublime. Grondhout's approach reminds me of Whistler, whose work also celebrates the quiet, contemplative aspects of landscape. Both artists embrace ambiguity, inviting us to wander through their art and find our own meanings.