Kerstkaart van Tine en Johan Schwencke 1936

Agta Meijer created this black-and-white Christmas card with a linocut technique. The print plunges us into a densely rendered, almost dreamlike forest landscape. The high contrast and starkness of the cut emphasize graphic quality. A star radiates light upon a scene populated with deer, rabbits, and even a snake, all rendered with a striking sense of pattern and texture. The artist’s choice of linocut lends a particular weight and presence to the image, playing with positive and negative space in dynamic contrast. This is not just a pastoral scene; it is an orchestration of dark and light, where each shape contributes to a larger semiotic game. The juxtaposition of typically benign and threatening animals hints at the story of the Garden of Eden. The choice of such imagery in a Christmas card destabilizes simple and comforting narratives, inviting us to reconsider the deeper structures that underlie our festive celebrations. This card is a powerful statement, making us consider it not just for its aesthetic qualities but also for its complex cultural encoding.