Twee figuren in een stortbui 1932

Jean Emile Laboureur created this print, Twee figuren in een stortbui, using etching. It shows two people in a downpour, so immediately you’re plunged into the artist's world, one that's probably pretty cold and damp. Imagine him working on the plate, scratching those tiny lines to build up the image. It’s about touch, the feel of the tool, and a constant back and forth, trying to communicate something about the experience of being out in the rain. It’s almost like he’s dancing with the metal, following his intuition to capture the essence of a rainy day. Those scratches are everything; they make the rain feel heavy, and the figures huddled and small against the weather. Maybe Laboureur was thinking about other printmakers, like Whistler or Hokusai, who used lines to evoke atmosphere and mood. Artists are always in dialogue, riffing off each other's ideas. It's not just about what it looks like, but about the feeling, the experience.