Vrouw aan een weefgetouw 1883 - 1962

Max Svabinsky made this print, Vrouw aan een weefgetouw, of a woman at a loom, using a complex process of etching to build up areas of tone, hatching lines creating a kind of shimmering effect across the scene. This interest in texture and surface makes me think about the tactility of art, the way it appeals to the senses. Look at the way the dark, etched lines cluster and spread, creating depth and shadow. The way she leans into her work, absorbed in the rhythm of her craft. You can almost feel the weight of the wooden frame, the rough texture of the fibres, the quiet hum of industry. I notice the way the light catches the threads, how the image is built from darkness but finds these glimmers of illumination. Like Whistler or some of the German expressionists, Svabinsky understood the power of suggestion. He knows art doesn't have to shout, it can whisper, invite, and leave space for our own thoughts and feelings to complete the picture.