Ireland and Russia 1901

This etching by Muirhead Bone, 'Ireland and Russia', uses delicate lines to construct a landscape, or rather, the memory of a landscape. It's interesting how Bone uses the etching needle to create a kind of visual shorthand. Look at the facade of the building on the left, the texture of the plants suggested by a web of tiny strokes. It reminds me that art-making isn't about perfect representation, but about finding the essential marks that evoke a feeling. The pond, the way it's rendered with these shimmering horizontal lines, feels like a mirage, a fleeting impression. Bone's work has a kinship with Whistler's, in the sense of capturing a mood, a sense of place, with economical means. This piece isn't trying to give us the full story, and maybe that's why it lingers in the mind.