Transvaalse prent 1902

Antoon Derkinderen made this Transvaalse prent in a way that feels both immediate and deeply considered. The sepia ink is layered with an intensity that’s almost sculptural. The figures emerge and recede, built up from a network of marks. Notice the way the seated figure in the foreground is hunched over, the density of lines creating a sense of weight, but look upwards and the mark making becomes thinner, more ephemeral, creating a sense of hope. The surface is alive, not just descriptive but generative, as if the very act of drawing is a form of contemplation. It reminds me a little of Paula Rego’s figurative work, the way both artists use line to explore complex emotional states. Art becomes a conversation, an ongoing dialogue across time, and across artistic sensibilities, about what it means to be human.