Twee vissers 1887 - 1943

Editor: This print, titled "Twee Vissers" which translates to "Two Fishermen," by Jean Emile Laboureur, likely made between 1887 and 1943, appears to be a woodcut. What strikes me most is its bold, flat color and simplified forms. How do you interpret this work, looking at it from a formalist perspective? Curator: Indeed. From a formalist standpoint, we must consider how Laboureur manipulates line, color, and form to construct meaning. Note the stark contrast between the blue fisherman and the ochre one; it sets up a clear visual binary, doesn’t it? Also, the reductive approach to representation – the fishermen’s figures are nearly geometric. What effect do you think that creates? Editor: It feels very modern and stylized, removing realistic detail for something more symbolic, perhaps emphasizing the idea of “fisherman” rather than portraying specific individuals. The rigid poses contribute to this effect, too. Curator: Precisely. And the background: flattened planes suggesting buildings and water through repetitive lines. It forsakes depth for a play of surface. How does the interplay between these structured shapes in the background and the solid color of the figures strike you? Editor: There's a tension, maybe, between the busyness of the background and the calm solidity of the fishermen. It could suggest they are figures of stability within a changing, perhaps industrializing, world. Curator: An astute observation. The woodcut medium itself, with its inherent starkness, reinforces the print’s commitment to simple, unadorned forms. It’s through these visual relationships – the colors, the lines, the forms, and their interaction – that the artwork conveys its essence. Editor: So by focusing on the elements and their arrangements, we begin to unravel meaning, not just by looking at external context? Curator: Exactly. That is the core of the formalist exercise, allowing us to move beyond mere observation of the surface toward the artwork's internal mechanics. Editor: It’s fascinating to see how much information and interpretation arises from carefully observing these fundamental elements. Thanks for that enlightening dive into formalist reading.