The Grand Gallery of the Prado c. 1903

Joseph Pennell rendered The Grand Gallery of the Prado with lithographic crayon, a tool that offers rich blacks, and hazy greys. The dramatic vaulted ceiling presides over the walls adorned with framed paintings. Look how they recede into space, casting long shadows. I wonder if Pennell was thinking about the Dutch Masters and how they used light to describe interior spaces. I like to imagine Pennell, standing in the gallery with his sketchbook, trying to capture the grandeur and the solemnity of the museum. What's it like to be an artist in a museum? Do you feel reverence? A calling? Artists are always in conversation with each other across time, inspiring and challenging one another's creativity. Pennell’s image of the gallery is both a record of place and also a reflection on the act of looking. Making visible an exchange of ideas which stretches across centuries.