Gebogen man met kom 1930 - 1937

Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita made this woodcut print called ‘Bent Man with Bowl’ in 1930. It's all about the stark contrast between black and white, achieved by carving away at the wood. Look at how the lines define the figure, especially around the head and shoulders. The way the lines curve and gather reminds me of the woodcuts of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, but Mesquita brings his own sensibility to the material. The texture is really something. You can almost feel the give of the wood, the resistance of the blade. See how the white bowl emerges from the darkness, like a beacon of hope, or maybe just a void. Each mark feels deliberate and full of intention. There’s no hiding here, just the raw physicality of the medium. It strikes me as a very modern piece, even though it's almost a hundred years old. For me, it speaks of the ongoing conversation between artists, each building on what came before, and pushing the boundaries of what art can be.