Johannes de Doper bij de Jordaan 1629

Christoffel van Sichem II created this woodcut depicting John the Baptist at the Jordan River sometime before his death in 1658. It’s a humble print, made using a painstaking process, with the image painstakingly carved into a block of wood. Look closely, and you can appreciate how the linear marks in the design have been built up through a laborious process of cutting and clearing. The relative softness of wood allowed for a design that is both intricate and quite tonally complex, creating a strong contrast between the black ink and the white of the paper. The very act of making this print, with its sharp lines and crisp forms, reinforces a sense of clarity and purpose central to the scene. Woodcut is a relatively democratic medium, yet it required the steady hand and practiced skill of someone like van Sichem to execute well. The final print, therefore, represents an intersection of accessibility and skill. Appreciating this work, it becomes clear that meaning isn’t only found in subject matter, but also in the very act and material of making.