Brooklyn Bridge

In Brooklyn Bridge (Mosaic), John Marin emulated the effect of a mosaic to depict the multifarious composition of one of his favorite subjects, the Brooklyn Bridge. The seemingly frenetic intersection of lines in the etching suggest the various energies, seen and unseen, Marin perceived in the bridge. Marin's use of the term mosaic may also suggest an oblique reference to the medium's use in religious architecture, especially when considered in association with the Gothic arches of the Brooklyn Bridge. Marin was certainly not alone in comparing the technological sophistication of the new urban environment with the monuments of religious architecture. Only a few years later in 1916, Calvin Coolidge would state "The man who builds a factory builds a temple, . . . the man who works there worships there, and to each is due, not scorn and blame, but reverence and praise."