The Alps from the Lido - No. 1 1912

Muirhead Bone etched "The Alps from the Lido - No. 1" using a drypoint needle to scratch directly into the copperplate. I feel a deep kinship with Bone. There's an intimacy to the linear quality, like looking at a drawing in someone's notebook. It is a kind of shorthand that is so touching. The network of subtle lines describing the buildings and the distant mountains! I can only imagine Muirhead Bone standing there on the Lido, squinting into the distance. The Alps form a pale backdrop, anchoring the composition, while the rooftops below are scribbled in a way that feels both precise and intuitive. I like how the sky is left mostly empty. It makes me think about the kind of looking that Bone was doing and how painting is so often about this kind of search and investigation. It's as if the artist invites us to be present, looking and thinking alongside them.