In 't Atelier 1901

Jan Toorop made this etching, 'In 't Atelier', which translates to 'In the Studio', sometime around the turn of the 20th century. It’s all lines, a whole world built from delicate scratches. The etching captures a fellow artist in their creative space; a woman stands poised before her canvas, brush in hand. Look at how Toorop uses a kind of shorthand to suggest the folds of her dress, or the objects scattered around the studio. It’s like a map of a room, rendered in whispers. The magic, for me, is in the surface. The gray tonality gives the piece a dreamlike quality, as if we're peering into a memory. Notice the network of lines that defines the canvas she's working on – an artist rendering another artist, capturing the essence of the creative act itself. It makes me think of Whistler, another great etcher, who was similarly interested in capturing fleeting moments and atmospheric effects. Toorop reminds us that art is an ongoing conversation, echoing through time.