Vrouw zittend bij een venster 1918

Gustave De Smet made this black ink print of a woman by a window, sometime around 1918. I’m struck by the bold contrast between the dark ink and the light paper. It's like he’s carving away at the darkness, letting the light seep through, shaping the image. There's a real graphic sensibility at play, a love of line and form. Look at how he renders the woman's face, with just a few deft strokes, or how the buildings in the background seem to emerge from the shadows. I wonder what it was like for De Smet working on this? Did he plan out every detail, or did he let the ink guide him? I imagine him carefully applying the ink, wiping away the excess, each mark deliberate and meaningful. You know, it reminds me a bit of some of the German Expressionist prints from that time. Artists like Kirchner or Heckel, who were also using bold lines and stark contrasts to convey a sense of emotional intensity. It's like they're all part of the same conversation, exploring the possibilities of printmaking as a means of expression.