Grootestraat in Batenburg 1907

Benjamin Charlé made this small etching of Grootestraat in Batenburg. It's all soft browns and tans, a dreamy scene created with lots of fine lines. I can almost feel the artist bending over the plate, carefully drawing each stroke. I wonder what Charlé was thinking as he made this? It seems that he built the buildings bit by bit, finding a way to create light and shadow with just line, no color. Look how the trees become like lace against the sky. It makes me want to go to there. Charlé must have looked closely at other etchers, like Rembrandt, to see how they captured the world. Each artist is in conversation with those who came before, picking up ideas and making them new. And now, we get to look at this etching and bring our own thoughts to it. A picture isn't finished until someone looks at it, right? It's a process of exchange, always open to new interpretations.