Schooner, Saint-Tropez (Saint-Tropez, la goelette) 1927

André Dunoyer de Segonzac made this etching of a boat in Saint-Tropez without using a lot of flourish, it’s pretty understated actually. You can imagine him standing there with his etching needle, scratching away at the plate, trying to capture not just the image of the boat, but the feeling of being there, the light, the air, the gentle sway of the water. There is such a sensitivity to the line work here, it's almost like a dance, isn't it? I wonder if he made a lot of marks he didn't use. Maybe he had to wipe away some lines to find the right ones, the ones that truly captured what he was seeing and feeling. I like how the composition holds together, the buildings in the background and the rigging of the boat all help to keep it in place. Painters have always been inspired by each other, and this print makes me think of other artists who have captured the sea, like Turner or Courbet. It makes you wonder what they would have thought of each other's work.