Zicht op Antwerpen vanaf de dijk 1923

This is Eugène Bejot's 'View of Antwerp from the dike'. It’s an etching, so made by scratching into a metal plate and using acid to bite the lines, then inking and printing. The mark making feels spontaneous, you can see the hand of the artist, how he built up the image through layered strokes. The overall tonality is soft, almost dreamlike. I love the way Bejot uses the etching technique to capture light and atmosphere, it's all about the texture, the scratchy quality of the lines. Look at the foreground, how the dry grasses are rendered with a flurry of tiny marks, creating a sense of depth and movement. Then, your eye is led towards the distant city, where the architecture is suggested with economical precision. It reminds me a little of Whistler, in its focus on tonal values and its atmospheric mood. It's a reminder that art is a conversation across time, artists responding to and building upon the ideas of those who came before.