Brooklyn Bridge 1930

Earl Horter made this etching of the Brooklyn Bridge with what looks like a light touch, a kind of fleeting impression of this iconic structure. The image flickers between detail and abstraction, as if held together by a network of fine, almost invisible lines. What really grabs me is the way he captures the gritty texture of the city, using closely hatched lines to create a sense of depth and atmosphere. Look at the lower part of the image, where the buildings seem to merge with the bridge. It’s almost as if the whole scene is trembling, alive with the energy of urban life. The lines are there to capture what the artist is feeling about the monument, and it is alive with that feeling. I can’t help but think of the Futurists when I see this print, their obsession with speed and the dynamism of the modern world. But where they celebrated the machine, Horter seems to find a more melancholic beauty in the industrial landscape. It’s a reminder that art is always a conversation, a way of seeing and feeling the world anew.