Man en haas c. 1965 - 1980

Aat Verhoog made this lithograph, "Man en haas", at an undetermined date, with a wonderfully delicate touch. The palette is soft – pale yellows, pinks, and blues layered just so. It's as if Verhoog is whispering a story to us, not shouting. There's a lightness to the whole piece that comes from the texture of the lithographic crayon. Look closely at the shadow of the hare – you can see how each mark builds up the form, a kind of gentle cross-hatching. The man himself seems like a phantom, caught mid-gesture, reaching out to the hare. The hat is a bit like Magritte, but the overall effect is closer to someone like Philip Guston in his more whimsical moods. It makes you wonder about the relationship between these two figures, man and hare, frozen in this delicate dance. Art's like that, isn't it? Always hinting, never quite telling us everything.