Kraai, omhoogkijkend naar mugje 1918

Jan Mankes made this woodcut of a crow looking up at a tiny insect. I love the graphic simplicity of the image, just black ink on paper. I wonder, what kind of tools did he use to carve the block? It seems he may have enjoyed the labour of cutting into wood, letting the image emerge slowly, bit by bit. Imagine him looking intently at the crow, noticing the texture of its feathers, the way it cocks its head, the sharp little claws clinging to the surface. What was he thinking? Was he simply capturing a scene, or did he feel a connection to this creature? I feel like he saw something of himself in it. That little insect is so small, yet it draws the crow’s eye upward, and also ours. It’s such a gentle scene, somehow poignant. What does it mean to look up? Mankes died very young, and his work always has a touch of melancholy. I like to think other printmakers have been inspired by his compositions.