Chloë melkt een van Daphnis' geiten 1937

Aristide Maillol made this woodcut print, titled "Chloë milking one of Daphnis' goats," sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. The stark black and white lines create a sense of classical simplicity. You can feel the artist carving away at the block, making each line a conscious decision. It's like he's thinking out loud with his tools. The texture of the wood is present in the print, it almost looks like an ancient Greek vase painting, doesn’t it? The rough, hand-hewn quality gives the scene a sense of intimacy, like you’re peeking into a private moment. Notice how the trees are rendered with such simple repeated marks. The figure of the goat is really well done, there's a great sense of volume achieved with very few lines. Maillol was really invested in classical themes and the human form, and you can see that here, even in this small print. This reminds me of some of Gauguin's woodcuts; there's a similar interest in flattening space and emphasizing the graphic quality of the image. Ultimately, this piece reminds us that art is an ongoing conversation, with each artist adding their voice to the mix.