Kerkinterieur 1901 - 1952

This small etching of a church interior was made by Kornelis Jacobus Huineman, though we don’t know exactly when. The marks feel exploratory, as though Huineman is figuring out the space as he goes, with areas rubbed back and re-worked. There’s a real push-pull here between the light and dark, between a clear depiction and a ghostly, almost gothic ambience. Look how the light seems to eat away at the base of the staircase, or how the heavy blacks of the pulpit threaten to swallow the whole scene. It’s all about the surface, the etched lines creating a palpable texture. The building feels old and worn, like the artist is revealing layers of history through the depths of tone. It’s fascinating to see how artists like Huineman and Whistler share a similar tonal approach to printmaking, finding new ways to explore familiar forms. There’s something inherently modern in this kind of ambiguity, this dance between legibility and abstraction.