Christus aan het kruis 1935

Lodewijk Schelfhout made this monochromatic woodcut print, “Christus aan het kruis”, which translates to "Christ on the Cross," sometime in the early 20th century. The stark contrast between the black ink and the unprinted white of the paper makes the image so striking, and suggests to me the labor involved to carve away at the block, paring back the surface to reveal the image. It’s a little like the inverse of creating a sculpture by building up material. I imagine Schelfhout carefully considering each cut, each line, trying to capture not just the physical likeness, but also the emotional weight of the scene. His cross-hatching evokes both suffering and the divine. Like other artists who interpret biblical scenes, I can imagine he felt a connection to the source material, and was bringing his own personal and historical context to it. Artists are always in conversation with one another, across time, inspiring each other's creativity.