Oude Hof in Bergen 1896 - 1944

Emilius Wilhelmus Dehé made this print, Oude Hof in Bergen, with etching. The artist takes a traditional landscape and uses a very specific approach to mark making, creating a scene that is both familiar and somehow alien. I really get a sense of texture from this image; the multitude of tiny, etched lines give the whole print a tactile quality. See how the artist varies the density and direction of these lines to suggest light, shadow, and depth? It's like he's feeling his way through the landscape with his tools, translating what he sees into a language of pure sensation. It’s the reflection of the bridge and trees in the water that feels most poignant; the etched lines become more frenetic, a dark visual echo of the solid objects above. It makes me think of other printmakers, like Piranesi, who used similar techniques to create these dense, almost overwhelming architectural landscapes. Dehé, like Piranesi, invites us to get lost in the details, to wander through the artwork. Art is a conversation across time, a kind of visual call and response.