Opgaande of ondergaande zon boven een heuvellandschap 1914

Lodewijk Schelfhout made this etching, *Rising or Setting Sun over a Hilly Landscape,* using black ink sometime around 1916. The composition’s balanced, but there’s an ominous feeling in this landscape, don't you think? Look at the tonal gradations, from the delicate hatching in the sky to the darker, decisive marks in the earth. I can almost feel the artist at work, patiently layering the ink, wiping away excess, and then returning with the needle. I imagine Schelfhout felt a pull to capture this quiet, solitary moment, possibly thinking about man's relationship with the natural world. The tiny figure in the bottom left really adds to the emotional weight. His work reminds me of other landscape artists like Hercules Segers, who are deeply in tune with nature’s complexities and convey a sense of drama. Artists are always bouncing off each other, you know, finding common ground or pushing back. There’s a feeling of freedom when you start to really engage with the creative conversation.