Het kleine bultje 1894 - 1959

This print, 'Het kleine bultje', was made by Monogrammist LE at an unknown date. It looks like it may have been made with some kind of print process and then carefully hand-colored. I see some clear outlines and flat areas of color. Check out the way the artist divides the image into different scenes, kind of like a comic strip! The figures are a little awkward, and some of their faces have these dramatic expressions, like masks. It makes me think about the way we tell stories through images, how we use exaggeration and simplification to get our point across. There's this one scene in the middle, where someone is lying on the ground, surrounded by figures with dark shadows – it gives the scene a dramatic feel. But when you look closer, the rendering is totally flat! This way of working reminds me a little of the German expressionists, like Max Beckmann, who used simplified shapes and colors to communicate intense emotions. Art isn’t just about representation, it’s a way of thinking and feeling and storytelling.