Aanbidding door de herders 1890 - 1933

Wolbartus Brouwer made this print, ‘Adoration of the Shepherds,’ sometime before 1933. I’m struck by how Brouwer uses stark black and white to evoke the story's humble setting and the faces of the figures. It's as if he’s not just depicting a scene but digging into the emotional core of it. I imagine Brouwer, in his studio, carefully carving away at the block, thinking about light, shadow, and texture. He might have been thinking about artists like Käthe Kollwitz, who also used printmaking to convey deep human emotion. The bold strokes around the figures and the beams in the roof seem to push towards something solid and sure, amidst all the fragility. Ultimately, Brouwer is in dialogue with centuries of artists who have interpreted the Adoration, but he’s also speaking to something deeply personal. Each mark feels intentional, a testament to the power of art to convey complex feelings with simple means.