Untitled (Don Quixote) 1936

Bernard Patrick Arnest made this untitled image of Don Quixote using hatching and cross-hatching, a technique of building up tone to create the illusion of form. It's all about process here, layers of marks accumulating into a vision. The texture is almost palpable, isn’t it? You can imagine the scratch of the tool against the plate, the artist's hand moving rhythmically. Look at how the light seems to emanate from Don Quixote’s cloak, achieved with such simple means. The folds of the fabric, those tiny, deliberate strokes; it’s all about the physicality of the medium, the way the artist coaxes the image into being. Then, there’s the area around his face, so full of character and life. It reminds me of Goya’s etchings, that same intensity and focus on the human condition. Ultimately, art is a conversation, an echo of ideas across time. There's no right way to interpret this image, just different ways of seeing.