Hond, staand op een stoel 1884 - 1952

Reinier Willem Petrus de Vries made this woodcut of a dog standing on a chair, probably sometime in the first half of the 20th century. The thing about woodcuts is their starkness – the way the artist is forced to boil things down to simple contrasts. Here, you have this dark, almost silhouette-like image of the dog against this lighter background, created by the paper. But what I love about woodcuts is how they embrace the process of their own making. Look at the parallel lines in the background which could either be prison bars, or maybe curtain folds. See how those lines aren’t perfect? They wobble and vary in thickness, just like the carved edges around the dog. For me this awkwardness gives the piece its charm. It is this visible process, these not-quite-perfect lines, that speak to the act of making, and remind us that art is fundamentally a human endeavor. It makes me think of some of the German Expressionists and their raw, emotionally charged prints. But ultimately, it's de Vries' unique vision that makes this piece so compelling, embracing ambiguity and letting the viewer fill in the gaps.