Child and Mask 1955

Kaoru Kawano made this woodcut print, *Child and Mask*, and it's all about the stark contrast between black, white, and a vibrant red. The child's face is almost like a blank canvas, so pale, against the intensity of the mask. Look at the way Kawano carves the lines – they are so deliberate, especially in the child's hair. You can almost feel the texture of the wood, right? The black ink isn’t just a flat surface; it has this mottled, uneven quality that gives the whole piece a kind of depth, an emotional weight. That red mask, though, it's like a pop of raw feeling, held tight. Kawano, with his background in medicine, often explored themes of innocence and the hidden aspects of human nature, much like Ensor's masked figures. There's something about the directness of the medium that just strips everything down to its emotional core. It's simple, but it hits you right in the gut.