Pilsēta vakarā. 1961

"Pilsēta vakarā" seems to be an undated etching by Guntis Strupulis. Looking at this city at night, with its various buildings, I can imagine the artist working with the plate, scratching and biting into the metal. I see a lot of cross-hatching, and the image emerging from the depths of the darkness, almost like a memory. I wonder what it was like for Strupulis to create this? Perhaps he walked around the city late at night, observing the quiet moments that others missed, finding the beauty in the mundane. There's a real sense of stillness here. The lines of the buildings and the figures walking about are a little shaky and indistinct, but I think it really makes you feel the quiet melancholy of the night. It reminds me of Piranesi's etchings of Rome, but with a Latvian twist. Ultimately, it's an image about mood, a shared moment of quiet contemplation, and a very personal response to the urban landscape at night.