Little Wine Shop, Rome 1921

This is Louis Conrad Rosenberg's etching, "Little Wine Shop, Rome." Look at the skeletal quality of the lines, the bare minimum required to suggest form. It's almost like he's daring the plate to hold the image, coaxing it into existence with the lightest touch. I can imagine Rosenberg, standing on a Roman street, squinting in the sun, trying to capture not just the scene, but the feeling of the place, the weight of history pressing down on the present. What's the story? Is it the architecture that fascinates him? Is it the life spilling out onto the street? Is it the wagon laden with wine barrels? The way he renders the signage above the wine shop, it’s like he’s wrestling with language itself. This guy obviously has a feel for the built environment and how architecture shapes our lives.