Ex libris van Ernest Tompos 1917 - 1944

János Mata made this woodcut print, Ex libris van Ernest Tompos, sometime before his death in 1944. You can see the labor and care that has gone into this. Look at the sun–it's not just a sun but a symbolic rosette. I wonder if Mata painstakingly carved out each sliver of light with a deliberate hand, thinking of the person for whom it was made? Imagine the physical act of pressing the blade into the wood, repeating the same movements over and over. The drama is palpable; the image teems with people and emotion. My eye follows the line of people towards a horizon with its active volcano and impending storm clouds. There's a sense of unease and uncertainty, but maybe hope too? The process of printmaking relies on a transfer, a kind of mirroring; what is carved away is what is revealed, reminding me that art is a continuous conversation and exchange of ideas across time.