The Market, Venice 1908

Donald Shaw MacLaughlan made this etching called 'The Market, Venice', at an unknown date, pulling the image from a metal plate to paper. I can imagine the artist working with such a complex scene. Look at all that detail! There's something so alive about the surface of this work. The way it's been worked, and reworked, it feels as though the artist really wanted to get something right, something that was very specific in their mind. As a painter, I know how tricky it can be to stop at the right moment. It’s not overworked, but it definitely feels worked. MacLaughlan almost certainly knew the etchings of Whistler and I see him here trying to forge a similar path for himself. The tonal qualities are really interesting; it's a kind of dance of light and dark that is quite intriguing. It’s not just a record of what's there. It almost feels like another Venice. Like a Venice that lives inside the artist’s head, which now lives here.