The Golden Cornice, I 1904

Joseph Pennell made this etching, The Golden Cornice, I, of Broadway in 1904. Look at how he's built up the image using these tiny, energetic lines. It's like he's sketching with acid, digging into the metal plate to create this bustling street scene. The surface is alive with activity. The buildings loom, but they're not solid, they're almost mirages, made of strokes that both define and dissolve their forms. Notice the sky, it's just a flurry of marks, creating a sense of atmosphere and light. There's a push and pull between detail and suggestion that keeps your eye moving. Pennell doesn't give you everything, he lets you fill in the blanks. Think of Whistler, another printmaker who loved capturing the fleeting moments of urban life. Pennell, like Whistler, embraces the messy, the unresolved. For him, art isn't about perfection, but about capturing a feeling, an impression of the world in motion.