Kade met omnibusboten in Parijs met de Eiffeltoren op de achtergrond 1904

This etching of a Parisian quayside with boats and the Eiffel tower was made by Eugène Bejot. I love how the whole composition is built up through a mass of tiny, barely-there marks. The effect is kind of dreamy, like a memory fading at the edges. The dark shadows under the boats contrast so strongly with the light, reflective water and the airy sky; it's like Bejot is playing with our perception, asking us to really *look*. Take the reflections in the water – see how they’re not perfect mirrors, but broken up, almost abstract? They remind me of Cy Twombly’s mark-making, that same sense of energy, of things being in constant flux. That little figure standing on the boat with his fishing rod is great. It's such a casual, everyday scene, yet Bejot elevates it through his attention to texture and light. It feels like he’s saying, “Hey, even the ordinary can be beautiful; just look closely.”