Bridge Over Canal, Amsterdam 1906

John Marin made this etching of a bridge over a canal in Amsterdam, with delicate lines on a small metal plate. I can almost see him hunched over it in his studio. The whole scene shimmers with light, doesn't it? There's a nervous energy in those marks. I wonder if he was trying to capture the feeling of being in a new place, the way things sort of vibrate when you're taking it all in. It reminds me a bit of Whistler's etchings, the way he uses line to suggest atmosphere. Marin is definitely doing his own thing, though. Those long, vertical lines reflecting in the water! They're so simple, but they really give you a sense of depth and movement. It's like he's not just showing us the canal but the feeling of being there, the air, the light, the sounds. Painters are always in conversation with each other, across time and space. Marin has definitely got something to say.