Kalenderblad januari met papegaai 1914

This is a calendar page for January made in 1915 by Theo van Hoytema. Look at how he layers colour! There is a kind of cross-hatching, like a drawing almost, with these layered, transparent lines of colour building up the form. I'm really drawn to the parrot itself. It's like a little cloud of green, perched on a branch with this super-serious expression. The colour is so quiet, but it's not dull, right? It's like he’s breathing life into something simple and everyday. It reminds me of late Degas, especially his monotypes of brothels, where you get that same sense of line and form emerging from a haze of colour. It is this layering and hatching effect that gives the piece such a unique texture and depth of colour. The layering also reminds me of the way different aspects of our lives build up over time, one day at a time, just like the dates on the calendar. There is a kind of beauty in that repetition and rhythm.