Parkiet (Twee parkieten) 1927

Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita made this print called 'Parkiet (Twee parkieten)' sometime in the early 20th century. I imagine the artist deeply engrossed in the act of carving, each line a deliberate incision into the material, slowly coaxing the image of the parrots from the wood. It's fascinating, isn't it, how the contrast between the dark background and the lighter lines brings the birds to life? The way the lines run parallel, creating this almost hypnotic rhythm that both defines the forms and flattens them, like the Cubists did. I wonder if De Mesquita was thinking about the formal constraints of printmaking, how to suggest volume and depth with such limited means. It feels almost sculptural. The texture, the way the light catches on the ridges of the carved lines – it invites you in, doesn't it? You can feel the artist's hand, the pressure of the tool against the wood. And you realize how artists keep learning from one another, echoing and responding across time. It’s a constant conversation.