Evening, Port of Genoa 1915

Muirhead Bone made this etching, Evening, Port of Genoa, using a monochromatic palette of sepia-toned ink on paper. You can almost feel the cool evening breeze coming off the Ligurian Sea, see the gentle lapping of the water against the ancient stone walls. The artist must have been thinking about atmosphere when he made this. What does it feel like to be in this place? Notice how the lines in the water are horizontal, as though mirroring the even horizon line; meanwhile, the textured lines in the stone are vertical, creating a certain tension. I imagine Bone might have etched the sky last, using the softest touch to evoke a feeling of dusk settling over the port. As painters, we are all in conversation with each other. Bone’s atmospheric etching reminds me of Whistler’s nocturnes or even some of the more moody tonalist paintings from the 19th century. Artists are constantly riffing off each other, transforming feelings and ideas into new forms.