Lantaarn 1884 - 1952

This print, Lantaarn, by Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries, likely involved carving a design into a block and then inking and pressing it onto paper. I can imagine the artist's hand carefully gouging away at the surface, revealing the form of the lantern bit by bit. There's something satisfying about the contrast between the solid yellow and the stark black lines. It's like a dance between light and shadow, simplicity and detail. You get a sense of the artist working with the limitations of the medium, making deliberate choices about what to include and what to leave out. The slightly wonky lines and the imperfect registration of the colors give it a handmade feel, which is what makes prints so special. It reminds you that there was a real person behind this image, grappling with the materials and tools, making decisions, and leaving their mark on the world. I think of other printmakers like, say, Munch, and how they used the medium for emotional expression. It's all connected, you know?