Kerkinterieur before 1931

Etienne Bosch made this print of a church interior, sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century, using etching. The lines wiggle and swarm, like a nervous energy made visible. I love how the marks build up to describe the columns and arches, it’s like Bosch is feeling his way through the space. The colour is monochrome, a warm sepia tone, which gives the image a dreamlike quality. You can almost feel the cool, echoing silence of the church. Look closely at the columns on the left; the etched lines aren't perfectly straight, they waver, giving a sense of the immense weight and age of the architecture. This reminds me a little of Piranesi's etchings of Roman ruins, that same fascination with the grandeur and decay of the past. But Bosch brings a more intimate, personal touch. It’s less about historical documentation and more about capturing a mood, a feeling, a moment in time. Art isn’t about fixed meaning. It’s an invitation to wander, to wonder, to get a little lost.