Valk op een tak 1896 - 1944

Emilius Wilhelmus Dehé made this print, "Falcon on a Branch," and it's all about the tactile and the tonal. It's monochrome. Look at the velvety blacks Dehé coaxes from the plate, and the way he builds up the image with tiny, almost imperceptible marks. It’s like he’s whispering secrets onto the paper. There’s a real push and pull between the graphic quality of the medium and the softness he manages to evoke. Focus on the falcon's eye. It’s not just an eye, it's a window, reflecting the light and drawing you into the bird's inner world. Then follow the body, which dissolves into marks and texture. The longer you look, the more it shifts and shimmers. You could compare this print to the work of someone like Whistler, in the way that both artists use etching to explore atmosphere and mood, but Dehé brings his own sensibility to the medium. Ultimately, it’s about seeing and feeling, not just knowing.