Koe bij een lariks 1930

This is Bernard Essers’s "Cow by a Larch," made with ink on paper, and you can really see how the act of mark-making becomes a site of inquiry, right? Essers uses these incredible, almost frantic lines to build up the larch tree, a sort of cloud of foliage looming above. I can almost feel his hand moving, trying to capture the volume and texture. And then, that single cow! Placed so deliberately in the foreground. I wonder what Essers was thinking, juxtaposing this huge tree with such a simple, everyday scene. The dark ink creates a stark contrast, heightening the emotional resonance. It's like he's inviting us to see the world in a new way, finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. Artists are always talking to each other across time. They show us that painting isn't just about what you see, but how you experience it. Essers embraces that ambiguity, giving us space to bring our own interpretations to the table.