Paradijsvogels 1903 - 1932

Adriaan van 't Hoff made "Paradijsvogels," or Birds of Paradise, at an undetermined date, but likely using a monochrome drawing medium like charcoal or graphite. The piece is all about texture, color, surface, and the physicality of the medium. The strokes are delicate, almost feathery, like he’s trying to capture the essence of flight and lightness. There's a real sense of movement, like the birds are just about to take off. Look at the bird in the foreground. See how the artist uses short, quick strokes to define the plumage? It's as if he's trying to capture the ephemeral quality of beauty itself. The marks on the work as a whole relate to the process of art-making, where the artist is in conversation with their materials, finding a balance between control and chance. In some ways, it reminds me of the work of Charles Burchfield who could see the world as a set of vibrational marks and patterns. Art is an ongoing conversation, an exchange of ideas across time.