The Yosemite Valley 1912

Joseph Pennell made this print of The Yosemite Valley with some kind of etching tool, and it's pretty amazing how he uses simple black lines to make such a dramatic landscape. It feels like you’re standing right there. Look closely at the mountain. See how the lines are all going in different directions, kind of scratchy and messy? But then, from a distance, it all comes together and you get this massive, solid form. It's like he’s showing us how things are built, mark by mark. Now, check out the trees. Those dark, upright marks give you a sense of the forest's density, especially compared to the open, light-filled areas of the mountain. It reminds me a little bit of Whistler's prints. Both Pennell and Whistler saw art as a process of reduction, boiling down these overwhelming landscapes to their bare bones. It’s like an ongoing conversation between artists, each one taking a stab at capturing something that always stays a little bit out of reach.