Alte Gasse (Old Alleyway) c. 1915

Franz Gaudeck made this etching called Alte Gasse, or Old Alleyway, sometime in the first half of the 20th century. What gets me about it is the way the lines scratch and stutter across the plate, like he's trying to capture the fleeting memory of a place. Look at the jumble of lines that form the buildings, how they lean and almost breathe. It's like the whole scene is on the verge of collapse, yet somehow, it holds together, you know? You can feel the weight of time in those marks, the way the artist revisits certain lines, thickens them, making them bolder in some areas. Then there's that figure walking away, almost disappearing into the shadows. It's like a metaphor for the way the past slips away from us, always just out of reach. There's a kinship here to Lyonel Feininger who did similar architectural scenes at the Bauhaus. It's all about embracing imperfection and finding beauty in the rough edges.