Beek in een met bomen begroeid dal 1869 - 1937

This is a work by Anton L. Koster, depicting a stream in a wooded valley. It’s etched, so think about the artist scratching at the plate, pulling the image out of the metal. It’s all done with these tiny, tiny marks. I can imagine Koster walking through this landscape. Was he trying to capture a sense of quiet? You can almost hear the gentle trickle of the water between the trees. It’s a kind of hushed observation that’s very personal. Look at the way the trees are rendered, with those delicate lines. The light is captured in these subtle variations. It is not one solid mass, but something alive and breathing. You can feel the artist’s fascination with the way light filters through the leaves. It's a reminder that artists are always looking at each other, responding, and learning. Each brushstroke is part of this ongoing dialogue. And that, to me, is what makes painting so exciting.