Hand 1932

Lodewijk Schelfhout made this print of a hand, sometime between 1881 and 1943. Hands are tricky, right? The subtle shading suggests a deep understanding of form, but there is also a roughness and asymmetry, particularly in the creases of the palm and knuckles, which gives the piece its charm. It reminds me that art isn't about perfection, it's about process. You can almost feel Schelfhout’s own hand moving across the plate, guided by intuition, rather than a rigid plan. I'm drawn to the delicate lines of the fingers; they are like a map, each one telling a story of labour and life. The texture created by the etching adds a tactile quality that invites you to reach out and touch it. It reminds me a bit of the work of Paula Modersohn-Becker, who also had a deep engagement with the human form, focusing on its raw and honest beauty. Ultimately, this print invites us to see the beauty in imperfection, in the spontaneous mark, and in the ongoing conversation that art has with itself.