Brug over een gracht in een bos 1896 - 1931

Curator: Alright, let's dive into this striking print: a work called "Bridge over a Moat in a Forest" by Emilius Wilhelmus Dehé, likely created sometime between 1896 and 1931. It’s part of the Rijksmuseum collection. Editor: Oh, hello mystery. It strikes me as very intense...almost claustrophobic. That dense woodland pressing in from all sides, those heavy shadows. Are we lost? Curator: That's interesting! Dehé primarily used the woodcut and linocut techniques, as evidenced in the distinct textures here. You can almost feel the artist meticulously carving away at the block. Considering that the printmaking processes are subtractive ones—what are you willing to destroy—we get at his artistic attitude. Editor: Definitely! And the water's so still, it amplifies that enclosed feeling. Almost as if time is standing still within this secret grove. I’m wondering if we could position this alongside other works on paper that show the cultural history of print collecting and art markets in the late 19th and early 20th centuries... Curator: Contextually, this was a period when printmaking was undergoing something of a revival, moving beyond simple reproduction to become a celebrated art form in its own right. Landscape prints like this offered a romanticised vision of nature. The medium also made art more accessible to the wider public. It's small scale gave it both an aura of intimacy and an invitation for the viewer to fill the scene with their own experiences. Editor: Right! The darkness really helps heighten the beauty of light… What do you suppose is over the bridge? Curator: Perhaps something magical, something unsettling...Dehé leaves it to our imaginations. It reminds us that art, even in its quietest moments, can hold the key to untold stories. Editor: Beautiful!