Paarden en ruiters 1966

This etching by Aat Verhoog features horses and riders, rendered in a delicate dance of line and form. Can’t you just imagine Verhoog, working with his tools, pushing into the metal plate, each mark a commitment, a conversation between his hand and the material? There’s a dreamlike quality here, isn't there? The figures are simplified, almost like ghosts on horseback, emerging from a thicket of vertical lines that could be anything—reeds, rain, or even the bars of a cage. I wonder what Verhoog was thinking about when he made this. Was it the power and grace of the horses? Or maybe the vulnerability of the riders? The lines feel nervous but deliberate, like Giacometti sculptures, and the layering creates depth and movement. The whole thing shimmers with a quiet energy. It’s a reminder that art is often about exploring the space between what we see and what we feel, a conversation that continues long after the artist puts down their tools.