Repairing the Auld Brig, Ayr - No. 1 1909

Muirhead Bone made this etching of the Auld Brig in Ayr using delicate lines to capture the scene. The act of repairing itself becomes part of the story, a visible process, as Bone coaxes forth a vision of labor and restoration. Look at how Bone uses the etching needle, it’s like he's sketching right onto the plate. It's all about the touch, the pressure, the speed—the kind of immediate, physical relationship to the medium that I totally dig. See how the bridge's skeleton is exposed, almost like an anatomical drawing? Those lines aren't just describing the bridge; they're also revealing its structure, its bones, quite literally. The reflections in the water, those aren't just reflections; they’re a kind of ghost image, a reminder of what was and what will be. Bone reminds me a bit of Piranesi, with that same obsessive attention to architectural detail, but with a more human touch. He invites us to contemplate not just the finished structure but also the messy, beautiful process of its making.