Dutch Market Boats 1888

Charles Adams Platt created this monochromatic print, "Dutch Market Boats," sometime in his lifetime, using etching and drypoint. The composition is dominated by horizontal lines: the flat plane of the water and the boats aligned in a neat row. Platt has employed a rigorous structure to the picture plane, and the sepia tones create an atmosphere of muted serenity. The boats, which seem almost identical, could be viewed through the lens of structuralism as signs of commerce and a deeper cultural code of exchange and industry. The boats, the buildings in the background, and the reflections in the water appear more like abstracted forms than literal representations. Platt challenges fixed meanings by reducing the scene to its basic elements. This piece invites ongoing interpretation. How do you read these signs?