Kalenderblad juli met een eekhoorn 1902

Theo van Hoytema made this calendar page for July with, I assume, some kind of printing process, and it's now at the Rijksmuseum. I imagine Hoytema had the squirrels in his garden in mind when he made this. The way they are drawn, they almost remind me of art nouveau—that flowing quality, you know? I wonder, what was he thinking, looking at them scampering and playing? Did he want to capture their movement, their quickness? The tree they sit in is an interesting element of the artwork too. It looks scratchy and textured, doesn’t it? The calendar element gives a sense of time passing. All those days neatly laid out. It makes you think of what might be coming, what you are planning, and what you are doing. There’s something about how artists use familiar motifs that I always find really interesting. It feels like an ongoing conversation.