Lezen (Liggend naakt, een boek lezend) 1913

Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita made this black and white woodcut, a print of a nude woman reading, at some point in his career. The fun thing about woodcuts is that every mark you see has been carefully carved away from the block, a real labor of love and a testament to how much information can be communicated with just two tones. I love how Mesquita uses these stark contrasts to define the space: the patterned backdrop, the soft curves of the figure. The woman's body seems to emerge from the darkness, each line carefully considered. Look at the fringe on the edge of the bed and the vertical lines, they give the impression of depth. The little details, like the way her hair falls or the tiny dots on the pages of her book, really bring the scene to life. Mesquita was working around the same time as Edvard Munch, and you can see a similar interest in using bold lines to create a sense of drama and emotion. Like a poem, it leaves space for our minds to wander.