Chloë melkt een van Daphnis' geiten 1937

This woodcut was made by Aristide Maillol. I imagine Maillol carving away at the block, defining these figures, the goat, and trees with elegant, firm cuts. It’s like a little pastoral scene – Chloë, captured mid-task, is milking one of Daphnis’ goats. What was Maillol thinking as he carved this? Was he feeling nostalgic for a simpler, rural life? Or perhaps he saw the timeless beauty in these everyday moments? The composition is so balanced, almost classical. The lines, though simple, give so much form to these figures. The scene unfolds in blacks and whites and subtle greys, like a memory or a dream. You can see how Maillol, like many artists, draws from the art of the past, yet gives it his own modern twist. Artists like him help me remember that creativity is always a dialogue, a way to reinterpret and reimagine the world around us.