Drie besneeuwde roeiboten bij een wal 1895

Pieter Dupont created this etching, 'Three Snowy Rowboats by a Quay,' using ink on paper. The dominant visual experience is a study in contrasts: the heavy, snow-laden boats against the delicate, watery lines of the etching technique. Notice how the composition is structured around the receding lines of the boats and the quay. This use of line and form can be interpreted through a structuralist lens. The artist employs a semiotic system of signs. The snow, for example, acts as a signifier of stillness and dormancy, contrasting with the boats which are meant for movement and activity. The varying textures achieved through etching—from the rough, dark lines of the wooden structures to the soft, subtle shading of the snow—destabilize conventional representations of landscape. The artwork exists not merely as a depiction of a scene, but as a site where the artist engages with deeper philosophical questions about the relationship between nature, culture, and human activity. The formal qualities of the print offer a commentary on our understanding of the world.