Portret van David Wijnkoop 1929

Here's a print made by Meijer Bleekrode of David Wijnkoop. The black ink sits proud on the paper, built from so many strokes. You can almost feel Bleekrode digging into the block, trying to find the essence of the man. I wonder what it was like to carve this face? It seems a little like psychoanalysis. Each gouge a question about character, about presence. I can imagine Bleekrode trying to find the right angle for the glasses, to suggest the way he held his head. The hat’s brim is interesting. It's almost like a crown, a flat shape that gives a sense of authority. But the angle of the brow, and that tiny, almost childlike ear, shows something of the person too. It's a real conversation in mark making. Prints like this remind us that artists are always talking to each other. Across time, across cultures, each one finding new ways to ask old questions. It’s never about the answer. It's about how the asking changes us.