September Sunset 1925

James McBey created this watery scene of a September sunset with etching, that is, by scratching lines into a metal plate, probably sometime in the first half of the 20th century. Look at how the etched lines build up to create the dark tower, the glowering clouds. You can almost feel the artist, McBey, hunched over the plate, carefully incising each line, coaxing the image into being. Was he thinking about Whistler or Turner? Maybe even Rembrandt? I feel like he was trying to capture the fleeting beauty of the natural world, the way light dances on the water, the way the sky seems to hold its breath before nightfall. You can sense the history of art in this one, all those artists who tried to capture light, beauty, and the sublime. It's a conversation that stretches back centuries, and McBey is right there in the middle of it, adding his own voice to the chorus.