Aanvang van de dans, het rijzen 1921

Johannes Frederik Engelbert ten Klooster made this print called 'Aanvang van de dans, het rijzen,' which translates as 'Beginning of the dance, the rising.' The image, made in stark black and white, shows a figure poised, maybe about to move or simply caught in a moment of reflection before the dance begins. I can imagine ten Klooster working on this, carefully carving away at the block, deciding what to leave and what to remove, what to reveal and what to conceal. That single line that defines the dancer's gown—it’s so elegant and simple, but it also conveys so much about the form beneath the fabric. I feel like it is a conversation between artist and material, a dance between intention and accident. It reminds me a bit of other artists working at the time, playing with similar ideas of movement, form, and the female figure. Ultimately, I think it is a testament to the power of seeing and the ongoing conversation artists have through time.