Brug over een rivier in Kanton 1917

Wijnand Otto Jan Nieuwenkamp made this print of a bridge over a river in Kanton. Imagine the artist, plate in hand, etching the scene. Look at the marks that make the water! Those horizontal scratches, like fleeting thoughts, suggest the boats are bobbing on the surface. The buildings in the background are rendered with a lighter touch. See how the artist varies the pressure and rhythm of marks to create depth? I wonder if Nieuwenkamp made this print on the spot, or from memory. It's hard to know exactly, but I like to imagine that the artist, like the river, is flowing, reflecting on the world as he sees it.