Toekan 1913 - 1914

This is Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita's 'Toekan', a stark, graphic print, and when I look at this piece, I think about the beauty and strangeness of process. Look closely and you'll see the whole image is built up from a latticework of tiny marks. Each one is so deliberate, so carefully placed and considered. This piece presents a world meticulously crafted, an almost hypnotic arrangement of tone and texture. I think in particular about the area around the bird's eye, and the way the cross-hatched background seems to coalesce to define its form and expression. It’s an incredible example of how, through repetition and variation, an image emerges. For me, the flattened perspective and bold simplicity brings to mind the work of someone like Henri Matisse. Both artists share a fascination with pattern, decoration, and exoticism. Ultimately, like all great art, this print raises more questions than it answers, inviting us to consider the nature of seeing, representation, and the enduring power of the handmade mark.