Basket of Flowers 1907

Leopoldine Kolbe made this charming little ‘Basket of Flowers’ sometime before 1912. It’s a woodcut, so each color was likely printed from a separate block – a real labor of love. The flowers themselves are a riot of color: yellow, red, purple, all jostling for attention. But it’s the basket that really grabs me, with its grid of white squares popping against the black background. It’s such a simple, graphic element, but it gives the whole piece a kind of structure. The textures here are amazing, you can almost feel the grain of the wood in the black areas and the slightly rough edges of each shape. It reminds me a bit of early Matisse cut-outs, like he did later in life. Both artists share that same playful approach to form and color. It's a reminder that art is an ongoing conversation, a back-and-forth between artists and ideas.