Romeinse brug over de Guadalquivir in Córdoba 1901

Wijnand Otto Jan Nieuwenkamp made this print of the Roman bridge over the Guadalquivir in Córdoba, but when I look at this etching, it’s the process that grabs me. It's all lines, like he's thinking out loud with the needle. You can almost feel the scratch of the tool on the plate, right? The texture is everything here. Look at how he’s built up the darks, especially in the lower left tower. Those lines aren't just describing form, they’re creating a whole mood, a sense of weight and history. And then, the way he uses these long, horizontal lines to suggest the water – it’s almost like he’s mapping out the flow of time itself. It puts me in mind of Piranesi, another obsessive printmaker, totally consumed by line. There's something about the way he embraces the medium, letting the marks speak, that reminds me that art is an ongoing conversation, a constant questioning and exploration. It's less about answers and more about the questions themselves, you know?