Cincinnati Terminal c. 1930

Louis Conrad Rosenberg’s Cincinnati Terminal etching captures a sweeping, panoramic view. I imagine Rosenberg hunched over the copper plate, his hand moving with precision, guided by memory and feeling. Look at the way he creates depth with those delicate lines, how the architecture emerges from the landscape. It's kind of amazing, right? You can almost feel the vibrations of the city, the trains rumbling, and the sky stretching out forever. The line becomes almost topographical, a feat of recording and remembering. I bet he was thinking about Piranesi, but also Whistler, maybe some Samuel Palmer thrown in for good measure. We can feel the grit of urban life etched into this scene, the buildings like geological forms in a human landscape. It's like a city of memory, something that many artists have grappled with across time. Like an endless conversation!