In het klooster before 1931

This etching by Etienne Bosch, called "In het klooster", is all about the power of lines. Can you feel the mood that the artist creates with so many lines? I imagine Bosch hunched over a metal plate, carefully scratching lines into its surface. Each stroke probably building up to define the figure of a nun in quiet contemplation. What was he thinking as he rendered each line? The repetitive, vertical marks create a sense of confinement but also a feeling of reverence and solemnity. The dress and hood almost disappear into the background, like she is camouflaged. I see something of Paula Modersohn-Becker in the subject, and Käthe Kollwitz in the style and emotion of the piece. Ultimately, Bosch’s etching is a study in the beauty of restraint, a reminder that sometimes the most powerful statements are made in the quietest of voices.