Het verbond tegen Rodilard 1894 - 1959

This is ‘Het verbond tegen Rodilard’ by Lamouche in the Rijksmuseum. I imagine it was made with printing inks onto paper. The image shows several scenes, a sequence of events, with anthropomorphic characters, dressed in what looks like period costume, and set in a slightly surreal landscape. It's a little like a graphic novel. I wonder what it was like for the artist to imagine this world, figuring out how to compose all the figures into an animated comic strip. How they carefully considered each detail, from the expressions on the characters' faces to the folds in their clothes? The palette is quite muted with the yellow, orange, and brown tones creating a feeling of nostalgia. The characters remind me of figures in folk tales, like Aesop's Fables, where animals act as stand-ins for human beings. The whole work has the kind of whimsicality you might find in Redon or Klee, where the mundane becomes magical. It's a reminder that art is an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time, inspiring creativity and opening space for multiple interpretations. It embraces ambiguity and uncertainty.