Winterlandschap c. 1935

Bernard Essers made this woodcut, Winter Landscape, using stark black lines to conjure a snow-covered scene. The way Essers uses these heavy marks, it's almost like he’s sculpting the image right out of the block. You can feel the pressure of the tool biting into the wood. Look at the way the path cuts through the scene, snaking its way into the distance. It's almost menacing, the way it forces your eye into the unknown. The darks aren’t just about shadow; they’re about creating a mood, a kind of stillness that hangs in the cold air. There's a solitary figure, off to the left, almost slipping on the ice. Essers reminds me a bit of Emil Nolde, with that same bold, graphic approach. But where Nolde is all wild emotion, Essers is more restrained, more about the quiet drama of the landscape. Art isn't about answering questions, it's about asking them in interesting ways.