Brug in Loosduinen 1916

This etching, Brug in Loosduinen, was made by Jacques Hartog, sometime before 1942. Look at the density of those lines. It is a meticulous process, almost meditative. You get the feeling that the artist really looked, really saw the brickwork, the water, the sky. The eye travels along the lines, over the bridge and through the gate. The textures Hartog creates with his marks are wonderful. See how he captures the density of the bushes to the right, versus the flatness of the water under the bridge. It’s a balancing act of light and dark, solid and void. Hartog lived in a dark time. He was murdered at Auschwitz in 1942. This image feels like a portal to another world, a more peaceful world. Artists like Hartog, like Morandi, show us that it’s possible to make something beautiful out of very little. It’s a reminder that even in the darkest of times, art can offer a glimmer of hope.