Cours Saleya, Nice 1929

This etching, Cours Saleya, Nice, was made by Louis Conrad Rosenberg. You can see how the image has come into being with all the different cross-hatched marks, they evoke a sense of place, shifting and emerging through trial, error, and intuition. I can sympathize with Rosenberg and imagine what it might have been like to stand in the square in Nice and create the etching. What was he thinking when he made it? I think he made the right choice to frame the scene with the archway. The image is largely monochrome, but within that, you see the different tonal qualities. The hatching evokes feeling, intention, and meaning. Looking at this piece, it feels like the artist is in conversation with Piranesi, who also captured the arcaded buildings of Italy in etching. Artists are always in conversation, inspiring one another’s creativity. Etching, like painting, is a form of expression that embraces ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations.