Polo 1935

Francis Chapin made this print titled *Polo*, and look at the way he’s captured the energy of the game with all those etched marks! You can almost feel the horses thundering past, the players leaning in, mallets raised. I imagine Chapin, bent over the plate, carefully layering lines to build up the forms, then wiping away areas to create light and movement. It’s not just about depicting the game; it's about conveying its pulse and rhythm through the act of mark-making. The dark areas seem to vibrate! See how the lines converge to suggest the speed of the horses. And the ghostly figures in the background that create a sense of depth, all rendered in shades of gray. Chapin's print resonates with the work of other artists who've explored the dynamism of movement, like the futurist Umberto Boccioni. You see a similar attempt to capture pure energy. Artists are always playing off each other, you know? It’s a never-ending game of creative call and response! We don’t know how to do this on our own.