Royal Haymarket Theatre 1906

Editor: So, this is Joseph Pennell's "Royal Haymarket Theatre," created in 1906 using etching on paper. The scene seems busy, full of people milling about, yet the building itself maintains a solid, almost stoic presence. What catches your eye in this print? Curator: The composition is immediately striking. Note the use of vertical lines—the columns of the theatre itself, balanced by the suggestion of taller structures on either side. These verticals establish a rhythmic structure that your eye can follow to comprehend the space in a step-wise, structured fashion. Editor: I see what you mean about the vertical lines creating structure. So how does the medium itself, the etching, influence this structure? Curator: The etching technique, with its fine lines and subtle tonal gradations, emphasizes form over explicit detail. The shading doesn’t describe an abundance of details in each form, so the work as a whole relies heavily on lines to organize its shapes and suggest that there are forms. Pennell doesn’t simply transcribe a scene; he’s organizing an architectural spectacle in a very specific pictorial fashion. Consider the facade. Editor: It almost seems like he's building with lines instead of bricks. Does the crowd in front factor into your read? Curator: Absolutely. Their dynamism becomes an exercise in contrasting lines that lead back to the structural components and linear geometries on display throughout the print. We're presented with the interplay of these patterns: The facade to one side, a crowd that exists as its textural counterpoint on another side. It is this tension between line and perceived space that, I think, gives the print its enduring visual pull. Editor: That's fascinating. Seeing how Pennell uses these structural, repetitive lines and their formal relationships to construct space gives me a lot to think about. Thanks for pointing that out. Curator: My pleasure. It is important that, ultimately, we analyze the work for what it offers in form and figure.