Zeilboten op het IJsselmeer before 1909

Florimond Buyck made this etching of sailboats on the IJsselmeer, conjuring a breezy day at sea. I'm thinking about the mark-making, the soft grey lines that suggest the movement of water and sky, and how that creates an emotional atmosphere. You can almost feel the artist's hand at work, scratching and layering to build up this scene. There's a real intimacy here. I imagine Buyck squinting out at the horizon, trying to capture that fleeting moment when light and water meet, playing with light and shadow to give the scene depth and texture. The way Buyck uses line to create the sails – it’s like a dance! It reminds me of the work of Whistler, his way of finding poetry in the everyday. It's all part of the same conversation. Different artists finding their own way of saying something essential about seeing and being. Like a visual echo, each piece reflects and refracts the others, keeping the dialogue alive.