Bos met houthakker en kar 1924

Willem de Zwart’s tiny print is a whole world made in miniature, like a snow globe of labour and light. I can imagine him in his studio, carefully etching the image, his hand moving over the plate with focused precision. Look how he renders the trees – they’re not just standing there, they’re reaching, straining towards the light, their thin branches so delicately rendered. The horses pulling the cart seem to be sighing. The ground has a certain sparkle, like it had just rained, or will rain soon. The artist's wider body of work includes many landscapes and figurative scenes, reflecting a deep engagement with the natural world and the lives of those who live within it. I am so happy looking at this little image, imagining the wider forest full of life! We see in this print the ongoing conversation artists have with one another across time, inspiring creativity and offering multiple interpretations of the world.