Elevator naast een loods 1885 - 1931

In Frederika Henriëtte Broeksmit's image of a warehouse with an elevator, you can almost feel the artist's breath on the zinc plate as she worked. The image swims into view, a looming structure rendered in delicate lines. You can see a web of pipes and scaffolding, all etched with such care. Broeksmit had to have felt like she was scaling the building herself. I imagine her working and reworking the image, wiping the plate, and digging back in. The dark ink is almost viscous, imbuing the industrial scene with a moody atmosphere. It reminds me of Piranesi's architectural fantasies, yet grounded in the everyday. The sky seems restless, pregnant with possibility, mirroring the artist's inner landscape as she coaxed this image into being. It’s a testament to the enduring conversation artists have across time.