Muis die in eigen staart bijt 1919

This is 'Mouse biting its own tail' made by Julie de Graag in 1919. It’s a teeny artwork, just 99 by 66 millimetres. I can imagine Julie de Graag at work. It is almost comical, that intensity and focus to achieve this image! She’s working with such minimal means; you can almost feel the delicacy and precision in every line. That single, looping line of the tail creates a circle, which is the same shape as the void the mouse is coming out of. The void feels like it could stand for everything, or nothing. The mouse is a bit of an every-animal. What I mean is, the mouse could stand for anything, and I can't help thinking of all the infinite ways artists try to describe the world around them. It's an impossible project, but that’s what makes it so compelling. We are all trying to bite our own tail.