The Bridge at Fournay, from the Side 1895

Curator: Immediately, it gives me this nostalgic, wistful feeling. All that hazy grey resolving itself slowly. Like remembering a place. Editor: This is Gustave Leheutre's "The Bridge at Fournay, from the Side," created as an etching print around 1895. Leheutre really captured the everyday in late 19th-century France. Curator: I love how the artist's mark-making actually seems to embody the flow of the water. Notice how the ripples kind of mimic the line work above it? Editor: Absolutely. He masterfully used the etching technique to depict light and reflection on the water. The social element is present, as bridges at the time fostered trade and communication and also had a growing presence in the visual arts and popular imagination. Curator: Speaking of trade and connection, there is the solitary figure in the boat, off to somewhere alone. It has an amazing capacity to draw you in, doesn't it? Almost like it could be any of us adrift in thought. Editor: It also puts in question whom this work might have been intended for. Etchings like these were bought as easily distributable imagery affordable for an expanding art market at the time, fostering discussions around city life among diverse social circles. Curator: I’d want this hanging in my bathroom or on some wall where the low light accentuates its mysteries. It's something that I wouldn't ever grow tired of looking at. Editor: In conclusion, it stands as an incredible example of Impressionist printmaking and also helps us see, reflect, and discuss its contemporary appeal as a popular medium.