De twee reizigers / Les deux voyageurs 1833 - 1911

This print titled "The Two Travelers," of unknown date, was created by Brepols & Dierckx, zoon. This lithograph is arranged as a sequence of eight vignettes. The composition is divided into a grid, each cell presenting a moment in the travelers' journey. Soft pastel hues define the figures and landscapes, creating a serene, almost dreamlike quality. What strikes me is the structural formalism used to convey narrative. Each panel mirrors the others in layout: two figures interact, set against a backdrop of stylized nature. These recurring visual elements—the travelers, the landscape, the framing lines—act as signifiers, guiding us through the story's unfolding. This work functions as a semiotic system. The repeated motifs and sequential arrangement invite us to decode the underlying structure of the narrative. It is within these repetitions and variations that meaning emerges, revealing how art employs form not merely for aesthetic pleasure, but as a fundamental component of communication.