Hôtel de Sens, plate three from the Paris Set 1904

David Young Cameron made this etching of the Hôtel de Sens sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. Can you imagine him, plate in hand, carefully layering those lines? The plate is tilted and framed by the octagonal corners of the image itself, offering a glimpse into the Hôtel de Sens from a slightly worm’s eye view. I am drawn to the contrast between the dark, heavily etched facades of the buildings on the left and the lighter structures on the right, creating a sense of depth and drawing the eye down the narrow Parisian street. The figures in the distance, though small, give the scene a sense of scale and liveliness, and I find myself wondering who they are and where they're going. I feel myself walking along with them, towards the light. Cameron’s mark-making is so skilled that he conveys the texture of stone, shadow and sunlight with just a few simple marks. It is a reminder that art is often about what is left unsaid, as much as what is shown.