Staande vrouw met hoed en uitgestoken arm 1895

Maurice Delcourt created this striking image of a standing woman, with hat and outstretched arm, most likely in the early 20th century. It's a woodcut, a relief printing process, and that means the artist carved away the background, leaving only the lines of the figure raised to catch the ink. Now, consider how that material process affects the image's appearance. There is a graphic boldness to the image; it’s almost a silhouette. This directness speaks to the labor involved. With a knife or gouge, the artist would have painstakingly removed the wood from the block, understanding that every cut was decisive. Mistakes are difficult to correct. Though the image has an appealing simplicity, it connects to larger issues of labor and consumption. Woodcut was a popular technique for commercial illustration at this time, because it allowed for relatively quick and inexpensive production. The artist would have had to balance artistic concerns with the realities of the marketplace. In this way, we can see how even a seemingly straightforward image, deeply entwined with its means of production, carries significant social and cultural meaning.