Kalenderblad januari met kraai 1907

Curator: Theo van Hoytema’s “Kalenderblad januari met kraai,” created in 1907, offers us a stark and striking image rendered through drawing and printmaking. The piece resides here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: The very first impression is somber. It has this melancholy that’s palpable. That solitary crow almost consumes the space. Curator: Absolutely. Hoytema's art nouveau style frequently returns to imagery featuring the mundane or common animal, often elevated or examined with scientific accuracy through meticulous lines using primarily pencil as can be seen here. His process blends artistry with precise observation, and there's commentary inherent to placing it on a calendar. Calendars dictate labour. The turn of the century, where craft and mass production intermingled must have seemed a pertinent background to set this against. Editor: And what's interesting to consider is the long standing symbology surrounding crows; they have often been harbingers of transformation. Given the societal upheaval of the time, Hoytema might have been channeling a subconscious sentiment surrounding transition in culture. Look at the use of colour too - very muted as if to capture the cold, isolating atmosphere of the year's first month. It suggests both endings and possibilities. The positioning of the bird with its face to the month is significant in reading where our focus should be directed, too. Curator: Interesting to consider how printed reproductions shift perceptions of the 'original' as well, the role of printmaking allowed this image to reach wider audiences beyond those who attended exhibitions, and could be purchased to assist in the running of daily lives. This creates social context; who, and what lives used it for planning in this time? Editor: Its art nouveau elements contribute further by imbuing even functional items such as this, with profound significance – blending beauty into utility. Its presence served as an encouragement throughout cold days perhaps, lending grace amid harshness... and that the print circulated widely enhances those shared understandings, providing constant psychological touchstones across various households which has implications. Curator: Agreed. It definitely blurs those conventional boundaries, right? What begins as a commercially-driven object is instilled with layered artistry and that elevates a traditionally mundane and functional artifact, as art-nouveau consistently championed. It showcases the material circumstances that made something ordinary into much more. Editor: So when you study the interplay of imagery and daily application, we notice art being integrated not only visibly but emotionally too across daily functions and beyond its mere market value which elevates "Kalenderblad januari met kraai' as much more than 'just' a decorative item for a date reminder. Curator: Yes, something meant for production, transformed by how labor integrates symbolic resonance across both function and emotional weight of an object.