Road to the White City, No.II 1912

Joseph Pennell made this print called *Road to the White City, No.II* using etching, a painstaking process of mark-making. I'm thinking of the labor that goes into that, all those tiny marks, like a million little decisions! It feels like he's conjuring this place, this landscape, out of pure atmosphere. Is it real? Is it a dream? There’s something about how the light seems to dissolve the forms, they are barely there, hanging in the balance of dark and light. You can almost feel the artist's breath on the plate. The etching reminds me a little bit of Piranesi's architectural fantasies, but Pennell’s got a softer touch. It’s not about the grandeur of space, it’s about the feeling of being lost in it. It’s like he’s saying, "Come, let’s wander together in this ethereal place." And isn’t that what art is all about?