Gezicht op de Prins Hendrikkade in Amsterdam 1895 - 1938

Jan Sirks made this print of the Prins Hendrikkade in Amsterdam, pulling the image from a plate most likely etched with acid. The image is made from so many tiny marks. I imagine Sirks hunched over the plate, scratching away, lost in the details of the boats and buildings. I wonder if he was thinking about how the light hits the water, how the city rises up from the docks? You can almost feel the cool, damp air coming off the canal. The composition feels carefully observed, yet it is the work of pure imagination. The image is a reminder that all artists—printmakers, painters, sculptors—are constantly in conversation with one another. Each mark, each choice of medium, builds upon what has come before. A print like this captures a feeling, a fleeting moment in time, and passes it on to us, inviting us to dream along with the artist.