Snow and Sun 1939

Oscar Weissbuch made this print called ‘Snow and Sun’ sometime around 1939, and it's a beautiful example of how a limited palette can still convey so much about light and texture. Look at how he uses only black and white, but manages to give us a real sense of a crisp, cold day. There's a lot of cross-hatching here. See how the tiny lines build up to create darker areas, giving the buildings weight and solidity, while the open spaces feel brighter, like the sun reflecting off the snow. It's all about the physicality of the medium, the way the pencil or crayon drags across the paper, leaving its mark. Check out the small cube covered in snow at the bottom right of the image. The texture created here is almost sculptural. Weissbuch's work reminds me a bit of Charles Sheeler, another artist who found beauty in the urban landscape. But where Sheeler is precise and sharp, Weissbuch feels a bit more raw, a bit more human. It's a reminder that art isn't about perfection.