Gedenkprent ter ere van het 25-jarig bestaan van Le Vieux Papier 1925

This commemorative print by Pierre Desbois, celebrates 25 years of the society "Le Vieux Papier" or "Old Paper" as we might say. It's a detailed little scene, rendered with a kind of scratchy, loving line work, like he’s gently excavating the image from the page. Look at the layering of marks creating the walls of the bookshop! The density of these lines gives us a sense of the textures, the grain of the wood, the haphazard display of literary treasures. My eye keeps going to the awning and banner at the top – the way the artist uses these strokes to build up the form, but also to let light filter through. It reminds me of Piranesi's etchings – that same attention to architectural detail. But Desbois has a warmth, an embrace of the everyday. The marks feel like he’s not just depicting a scene, but sharing a fondness for the past, for the stories held within old paper. It's like art is one big, ongoing conversation, a way of seeing, of holding onto something precious.