Gevel van de Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois in Parijs 1884 - 1931

Martin Monnickendam's etching gives us the facade of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois in Paris with all its architectural detail rendered in a network of fine lines. You can see the sharp black lines that define the stonework, with a kind of energy that makes you feel like you're almost touching the wall. I imagine Monnickendam, out there with his tools, carefully carving into the plate, really observing how light catches on the stone. It's as if he's trying to capture not just the look but the very feel of the building. It's like he's building the church all over again, line by line. Look at how the lines thicken and thin to suggest depth and shadow, creating a play of light and dark that gives the building weight and presence. This feels like a conversation across time, with Monnickendam responding to the architects who built this incredible structure. The act of translation is a form of interpretation. Like any painter, the artist isn't trying to offer us a copy of the world, rather, they offer us a way of seeing it.