Hanenklopbaan op een markt in Bangli op Bali Possibly 1908 - 1915

This etching by Wijnand Otto Jan Nieuwenkamp depicts a cockfighting ring in Bali using a pretty limited tonal range. The closely hatched lines that describe the scene make the whole image vibrate, as if the very air is buzzing. Nieuwenkamp really knew how to use line to suggest form and space, but what I find most interesting is how the density of the marks creates a kind of overall texture. Look at the way the light seems to flicker across the thatched roofs, or how the clouds are built up with these tiny strokes. It's like he's trying to capture not just what he sees, but the feeling of being there. Notice how the depth is created from the foreground up toward the building, the marks become more dense and active. Thinking about other artists working around the same time, I am reminded of the etchings of Whistler. Except where Whistler is all about atmosphere and suggestion, Nieuwenkamp feels more direct, almost ethnographic in his attention to detail. Neither approach is better, they just offer different ways of seeing and experiencing the world.