Ornament 1887 - 1924

Julie de Graag made this ornament, probably as a woodcut, where she would have painstakingly carved away the negative space leaving behind the lines we see here. I can imagine her bent over her desk, tools in hand, carefully excavating the wood. Did she start with an idea, or let the design emerge organically? Look at how the strong central axis anchors the composition, and how the curves play against the sharper geometric shapes. I wonder if the curves were easier or harder to carve out of the wood block? The dots at the bottom remind me of seeds falling from a plant, or maybe tears. There is something satisfyingly complete and resolved about this small print. It makes me think of Hilma af Klint, who was making similarly stylized abstract work around the same time, or even Agnes Martin. The best artists aren't afraid to have a conversation with the work of artists who came before them. What do you see in this design?