Ca' d'Oro, Venice (Golden House)

In contrast to Joseph Pennell, who celebrated modern American architecture with etchings like The Woolworth—Through the Arch, Ernest David Roth looked to older European scenes. This etching depicts a renowned 600-year-old palazzo on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy, known as the Golden House.

Roth, like Whistler, applied acid to his plates touch-by-touch with a feather and blotting paper, rather than using acid baths to bite his lines. This laborious method allowed Roth to control the tone of every line. It also ensured that his dream-like etchings achieved a range of values from the dark recesses of the palazzo’s arcades to the delicate, shifting reflections of the gondolas on the canal.