Vrouw zittend bij een venster 1918

Gustave De Smet made this woodcut of a woman by a window in 1918. The stark contrast between black and white in this print is so striking, isn't it? It's like he's carving out shapes and forms from the darkness. Look at the way he's handled the light on the woman's face and clothing, and then the vase of flowers, so that they almost glow against the inky background. The texture is really tactile, and you can almost feel the grain of the wood. It’s a dance between what’s there and what's not, and how the white carves away at the solid black. Notice the way he uses those bold, angular lines to define the shapes. It’s like he's simplifying everything down to its essence, capturing the feeling rather than the exact details. This piece reminds me a little of the German Expressionist woodcuts of the time, like the work of Kirchner or Heckel, who were also exploring the expressive potential of woodcut as a medium. Art's always a conversation, right?