Nieuwjaarswens van Lucienne Marchal 1936

Curator: This curious little print is titled "Nieuwjaarswens van Lucienne Marchal," a New Year's wish from Lucienne Marchal dating back to 1936. It’s a woodcut, full of intricate symbolism. Editor: Wow, it's like a heart-shaped collage crammed with tiny dreamscapes! My first thought is adventure mixed with domestic bliss. Is that a steamship next to what looks like a cauldron labeled "Idéal?" Curator: Indeed! Given that it's a New Year's greeting, let's look at what symbols emerge in relation to time and place. It really offers a snapshot of interwar Belgian aspirations, desires for international connection. The steamship is paired alongside images of a home in tropics with the sun bearing down. Then we see winter foliage opposite from this. What do you think it says about Europe during this moment of flux? Editor: It’s got such an enchanting tension, this jumble. All these miniature worlds compete to create a harmonious picture. The steamship suggests mobility, and perhaps escapism, as Europe geared up for war. But it's placed next to a depiction of a town with winter vegetation and reindeer, which roots us into more nostalgic sensibilities.   Curator: Interesting, because there's something overtly political here. The clasped hands below this cauldron might symbolize international relations; below the train leading away to the other side is another landscape of trees. It hints at anxieties regarding global uncertainties. What about that looping ribbon framing the piece?   Editor: Right, that border contains the inscription "Lucienne Marchal vous souhaite d’obtenir en l’an 1937 tout ce que vous desirez". This phrase ties it all together – desiring and achieving everything. Maybe that ambitious goal represents an optimism and perhaps naïveté characteristic of this era, with Europe recovering after so much upheaval with no real end in sight. Curator: A sentiment certainly tested in the years to come, given Europe's path forward through the 1930s. For me, looking at this through a historian's lens, it encapsulates the complicated optimism of 1936, a delicate balance. Editor: Yes, and for me, this print resonates as a powerful expression of hope, a reminder of human resilience, and our enduring capacity to envision a brighter future, even amidst uncertainty.