Kalenderblad juni met bloemen before 1905

Curator: Look, there's something about old calendars, isn't there? This is 'Kalenderblad juni met bloemen,' a lithograph print by Anna Sipkema from before 1905. What strikes you first? Editor: It feels…restrained. Not in a bad way! There’s a delicacy to the color palette, this earthy red-brown offset by muted greens. It projects a quiet optimism. But is there something more to the picture that makes it feel a little too calm and not bright enough? Curator: Well, this artwork is swimming in Art Nouveau sensibilities—a style deeply invested in the power of the organic. Notice how the stylized floral motifs create a rhythmic border around the calendar grid? The trumpet flowers offer these sensual curves that feel kind of spring-like. It's the beginning of summer in art form! Editor: Yes, there is absolutely Art Nouveau movement throughout the entire piece. See the symmetrical, organic structure of flowers with geometrical order imposed on this flower series! Each flower shape in its specific cell fits its place within a larger pattern, where one sees the other—like the world's harmony reflected. Also, one can notice the contrast and harmony in shape of geometric calendar dates imposed in order versus freeform lines of flower silhouettes! Curator: The symmetry you mentioned grounds it, bringing a controlled elegance that almost verges on formal, but at the same time you are seeing it is a very lively image in general. Plus, consider the technique! Lithography allowed for detailed lines, capturing all the nuances of those looping stems and delicate petals with those colours! Editor: Right, without that texture, that hand-touched quality, it might all flatten into… wallpaper. It is just so visually alive and attractive with all this subtle detail and complexity coming from organic figures Curator: Perhaps that inherent tension—between geometric rigidity and organic freedom—makes the poster interesting! I keep noticing fresh little discoveries from the flower designs... like little surprises as the weather warms. Editor: And perhaps this speaks to the function of it as well! Time, even the marking of months, is like an unstoppable system we put on wildness around it. Nature follows cycles but still holds uncertainty. What a simple and lovely paradox shown here.