American Tivoli 1910

Joseph Pennell made this drawing of ‘American Tivoli’ sometime around 1910, most likely using graphite or charcoal on paper. Look at the marks he’s making! It’s all about seeing how an artist interprets a subject through a specific, personal lens. The textures here, built up from very fine hatching and small scribbles, give you so much information. The drawing is almost monochromatic, but the tonal range feels vast. Check out the bottom left corner, where the foliage is built up using a layered approach of very short, precise lines. They become darker, denser, and more opaque at the base, which allows the eye to move fluidly towards the lighter parts of the scene: the river and the waterfalls. Pennell’s work reminds me of Piranesi’s etchings. They both share this interest in capturing the grandeur of a place while also revealing the human impact on the landscape. There's no right way to see this, just different ways of looking.