The Facade of the Parthenon, Sunset 1913

Joseph Pennell's lithograph of the Parthenon, rendered in shades of grey, captures a moment of awe and perhaps a touch of melancholy. I can imagine him standing there, charcoal in hand, squinting at the play of light on the ancient stones, trying to capture the fleeting essence of a sunset. There's a real tension between the solidity of the architecture and the ephemeral quality of light and atmosphere. See how the dense, scribbled lines in the sky contrast with the more defined, vertical strokes of the columns? It's like Pennell is grappling with the weight of history while acknowledging its constant transformation. He’s probably thinking of the Parthenon as more than just a building, it's a symbol, a ruin, a testament to time. It reminds me of Piranesi's etchings, that same sense of romantic decay and the sublime. Artists, we're all in conversation, remixing the past, trying to make sense of the present. And that’s why we can always find something new, something personal in these old stones.