Landarbeiders 1918

This is 'Landarbeiders' by Gustave De Smet, a woodcut made in 1918. I can only imagine the labour involved in this artwork. Cutting into wood is a unique skill, you have to be both strong and deliberate, every cut counts! What would it have been like, I wonder, to be De Smet at this time? He was living through the First World War. Perhaps he was thinking about the dignity of labour? Or was he reflecting on the role of humans working the land, under the sun? The shapes are heavy and dark. The sun beats down on two workers tilling the earth. These angular forms remind me of German Expressionist woodcuts from that time. The dark outlines create a sense of drama, highlighting the figures' movements. You can almost feel the weight of their work. Isn’t it amazing how these shapes, cut into wood, can speak to us so powerfully, across time?