Bandontwerp voor: Stijn Streuvels, Reinaert de Vos, 1910 before 1910

This Bandontwerp was designed anonymously in 1910, probably with ink on paper. Look at the contrast between the black marks and the bare paper, it's stark! The artist seems to be relishing the possibilities of monochrome. It's all about the push and pull of positive and negative space, how marks can build up and dissolve again. And the fox! Those eyes staring right back at you. It's as though the artist is daring you to engage, to question what you see. I love how the crown atop the fox's head gives it this regal, almost absurd quality. The thickness of the lines, the way they vary and swell, it feels like you can almost touch the artist’s hand as they made this. This piece reminds me a little of the work of Kara Walker, in that it takes on the tradition of silhouette, in order to make art that is both beautiful and deeply thought-provoking. For me, the beauty of this image lies in its imperfections, its ambiguities. It's a reminder that art isn't about answers, it's about the questions we ask.