Landschap met vier bomen 1793

Monogrammist WO’s delicate etching, “Landschap met vier bomen,” presents us with a landscape distilled to its barest essentials through a network of fine lines. The composition, though seemingly simple, offers a structured exploration of depth and space. The artist uses the etching technique to create a complex interplay of light and shadow. Notice how the vertical lines suggest not just rain but also a screen, a veil that mediates our view of the scene. The four trees serve as both subject and structural device, their forms echoed in the thatched roof of the building to the right and the implied horizon line. This etching prompts us to consider how the artist uses line and form to construct not just an image, but an idea of landscape itself. It’s a landscape that exists as much in the artist's mind as it does in the world, shaped by the very act of representation.