Brug in Loosduinen 1888 - 1934

Willem Adrianus Grondhout made this print of a bridge in Loosduinen sometime in the early 20th century. It's a small etching, just a few inches square, alive with tiny, energetic lines. I imagine Grondhout hunched over a copper plate, carefully drawing with a needle, building up this scene bit by bit. There’s a lovely bridge, a little house, and a figure crossing. The whole thing has this wonderful, slightly blurry quality, like a memory or a dream. Look at the way he suggests the reflections in the water with these quick, scratchy marks. It reminds me of some of Rembrandt’s prints, where he uses the same kind of loose, expressive lines to capture light and atmosphere. You know, artists are always in conversation with each other across time, and I bet Grondhout was looking at Rembrandt, trying to figure out how to make these little marks say so much. It’s about seeing the world in a fresh way, and then finding a way to share that vision, however imperfectly, with the rest of us.