Gezicht op de haven van Dordrecht c. 1885 - 1930

Max Alexander Alandt made this print of the port of Dordrecht sometime in the early 20th century, working with etching, a kind of printmaking that suits the moody, atmospheric feel of this place. Looking at this, I imagine Alandt, maybe standing on the shore, bundled up against the damp air. I feel the biting wind, the smell of the water and the boats. You can sense the hard work of the sailors, but also the deep history of the place. There is an almost ghostly quality to the buildings and boats. The lines are soft and smudgy; the whole scene is steeped in fog and memory. That dark tower looms, doesn't it? It reminds me a bit of Piranesi’s architectural fantasies, those dark and intricate spaces. The etching feels so physical, as if he rubbed the ink right into the paper. I love how artists can take a moment, a place, a feeling and turn it into something that speaks across time.