Kalenderblad voor december 1912 met twee witte kalkoenen 1911

Theo van Hoytema made this calendar page for December 1912 with lithography. Look closely and you will notice the way the artist uses fine lines to create textures, like the soft feathers of the turkeys. The work has a muted palette, mostly creams and browns, with subtle hints of green in the pine branches. It's a humble sort of colour scheme that suits the humble subject. The artist has built up these fine lines to create tonal contrasts which define the shapes of the birds. See the way the lines move in a circle within the turkey's fanned tail. There is something beautiful about the detail in the tail compared to the blocky, simplistic rendering of the calendar grid. Van Hoytema was interested in lithography for the possibilities it offered for mass reproduction and distribution, and his work in the medium echoes that of other artists who were creating posters at this time, like Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Although this piece may not be as radical, it's still an example of art entering everyday life, instead of being confined to a museum.