Salamander in hoog gras 1892 - 1951

This is 'Salamander in hoog gras' by Janus de Winter. It's a print, so likely made with a metal plate, some acid, and a press. Look at the textures! Dense marks crowd the rectangle, creating a dark, lush environment for a pale salamander. It’s a push-pull between detail and almost total abstraction. I love how de Winter renders the plants as a series of marks, like he's making them up as he goes along, not describing forms so much as inventing them. You can sense that the artist felt his way through this image, deciding what to keep and what to eliminate, building something that is both representational and abstract at the same time. Thinking about how this artist has explored the relationship between abstraction and figuration makes me think about the work of other printmakers throughout time who inspire each other. There's something wonderfully open-ended about these artists’ investigations, suggesting endless possibilities for how we can make sense of the world around us.