Bomen aan een duinrand tussen Egmond en Bergen 1896 - 1931

Here's a woodcut called 'Trees on a Dune between Egmond and Bergen' by Emilius Wilhelmus Dehé. I like to imagine Dehé getting up close and personal with these trees, maybe even hugging them, to really feel their form and texture. There’s a real sense of touch in the way he’s rendered the bark, each mark like a little caress. You can see the energy he expended in the image, and his pure concentration. It's like he’s trying to capture the soul of the tree, not just its appearance. This isn’t just about representation; it’s about feeling and understanding. It reminds me of other printmakers and painters who are obsessed with trying to get the essence of a thing, like, say, Agnes Martin. The painting is not so much about the trees themselves but more about the artist's relationship with the land. You get a sense of how art making is such a conversation across time and space.