Bos in Bergen 1896 - 1944

This is Emilius Wilhelmus Dehé’s 'Bos in Bergen', or 'Woods in Bergen', and it's rendered in a monochromatic palette. Just imagine the artist, carefully etching each line, probably using some kind of sharp tool to create this dense network of marks. I can imagine him absorbed in the quiet intensity of the woods, translating what he sees into this print. It feels like he's not just depicting a tree but conveying a mood, like those times when you're trying to express the inexpressible, the subtle nuances of feeling. The way the branches reach and intertwine, it’s almost like a conversation. I wonder if Dehé saw painting as a way to communicate with the natural world, or maybe even with himself? It reminds me of the ongoing dialogue between artists, how we're always building on what came before, riffing off each other's ideas, each artwork a response to a question posed by another. It’s an ongoing exchange.