Winter c. 1926

Johannes Frederik Engelbert ten Klooster made this print called Winter, using stark black ink on what looks like a piece of paper. I can only imagine the artist standing in a very chilly landscape to then create this powerful image. The contrast between the black and white creates a mood that's both desolate and stark. The sky, reduced to long, sharp lines, looms over the scene, while a bird lays still against it. Ten Klooster's style is so bold. You can feel the bite of the wind and the cold seeping into everything. The bare reeds in the background add to the sense of stillness. It almost feels like a drawing a kid might make – where every line has a purpose. It makes me think about the prints of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, with their angular intensity and emotional depth. I wonder if ten Klooster ever saw those, or if it was something in the air at the time – a shared urgency to capture the world with as few marks as possible.