City Scene II 1949

This is 'City Scene II,' a block print by Bernard Brussel-Smith. The way he’s carved into the wood, it’s like he's not just depicting a place but building it from scratch! I imagine Brussel-Smith peering at his subject with a certain curiosity, translating the urban landscape into geometric forms and textures. He must have been thinking about what makes up a city, not just its appearance but the arrangement of shapes, the shadows that give it depth, and the patterns that suggest its rhythms. I’m drawn to how he captures light playing across the surfaces, creating sharp contrasts and softening edges. See those steps leading up, not quite to anywhere? And the balcony, like a stage set? These could be characters in a silent play, each shape in conversation with the next, inviting us to think about how we construct meaning from the world around us. It feels like a conversation between abstraction and representation, much like the urban environment itself.