Chartres 1888 - 1934

Willem Adrianus Grondhout made this print of Chartres Cathedral, but more intimately, the town itself, sometime in his lifetime, using etching, and drypoint, and all those methods that printmakers use. I can imagine him working on the plate, mark by mark, and how his decisions, like any painter or artist, must have been a constant series of adjustments. The scratching away, and re-scratching, as the image comes into being. I love how the cathedral looms in the background, but is softened in the details of the etching, while the buildings in the foreground are given more definition, but still the cathedral retains its aura of immensity. Grondhout is in conversation with other artists, like Piranesi. It’s like they are saying, "How can we use line to express depth and emotion?" These artists show that we can learn to see, feel, and think in new ways through painting and printmaking.