Rotterdam 1888 - 1934

Willem Adrianus Grondhout made this etching called "Rotterdam" using a whole lot of tiny, deliberate lines. I'm imagining Grondhout standing there, watching the boats bobbing in the water, trying to capture all the details of the harbour. You can almost feel the grit and cold air on your face. The lines create the illusion of depth, drawing you into the scene. See how he uses short, scratchy lines to build up the darker areas of the boats and buildings, and then leaves the paper almost bare to suggest the sky? It's almost as if Grondhout is inviting you to fill in the blanks, to complete the picture with your own imagination. This etching reminds me of other artists who were interested in capturing the gritty reality of urban life, like Whistler, say, or even some of the German Expressionists. Artists are always in conversation across time, building on each other’s ideas.