Walvisjagers voor het lichaam van een Groenlandse walvis before 1913

This print of whale hunters before a Greenland whale, was made by Anthon Kalland sometime between the mid-19th and early 20th century. It captures a specific moment, a stark scene rendered in shades of gray. It is all about the process of image making, and a study of tonal relationships. Look at the way Kalland uses light and shadow to define the form of the whale and the figures around it. The contrast is stark, almost brutal. The surface is smooth, the details are crisp, yet there’s a certain softness, a dreamlike quality. See that dark patch near the center? The shadow suggests not just the physical presence of the whale, but a sense of foreboding, the weight of the animal's death. Thinking about other printmakers like Whistler, who were interested in capturing the fleeting moments of modern life, Kalland is doing something similar, but with a darker, more historical lens. In the end, it's a print that invites reflection on the process of image making, and the stories we tell through art.