The Three Towers 1921

Joseph Pennell made this etching called ‘The Three Towers’ using black ink on paper. There’s something so immediate about the scratchy, hesitant lines of this piece. It’s like you can see Pennell working, changing his mind, unsure of the exact weight or placement of a line, which makes it feel very of-the-moment. Look at the way the buildings are rendered; they’re not solid, looming monoliths, but rather sketched, fragile forms. Pennell really captures the feeling of a city in flux, always changing, never quite fixed. See how he uses a kind of frenetic hatching to bring the lower levels into focus, while the tops of the towers are barely-there wisps of lines. This gives the whole image a sense of upward movement, of reaching for something just out of grasp. It makes me think of other artists like Whistler, who were also interested in capturing the fleeting impressions of modern life. Ultimately, art’s about embracing uncertainty, isn’t it? Leaving room for the viewer to fill in the gaps, to make their own connections.