Amants de Village 1902

Théophile Alexandre Steinlen made this print, Amants de Village, using etching. It's all about how he scratches those lines into the plate. You can feel the darkness gathering around this couple, this hidden kiss. The way he builds up the shadows with all those tiny, furious lines – it’s so physical. Like he’s digging into the metal, trying to unearth something raw and real. Look closely at the way he renders the woman's figure. Her body is almost swallowed by the shadow. She's just a mass of marks, a dark smudge, but it speaks volumes. Steinlen reminds me of Käthe Kollwitz, another artist who wasn't afraid to get down and dirty with the dark side of life. They both understood that art isn't always about beauty, it's about truth, even when that truth is uncomfortable. Art is a conversation after all, an exchange of ideas across time.