Vogel met vrouwenhoofd 1894 - 1935

This is Mathieu Lauweriks’ “Bird with a Woman’s Head,” and it looks like it was made with some kind of printmaking technique – maybe a woodcut or linocut. The whole thing is rendered in stark black and white, a contrast which brings out the texture of the paper. There’s something really compelling about the central image of the bird-woman. The way Lauweriks uses line to define her form, those sharp, decisive marks, especially in the feathers and headdress, give the piece a real graphic punch. The strand of beads wrapping around her body feels both decorative and symbolic, linking the figure to the landscape below. You could see echoes of Aubrey Beardsley in the decorative elements of the design, or maybe even a touch of Gustav Klimt in the stylized figure. These kinds of images feel like a conversation that is always going on, with each artist adding their own voice. Ultimately, the interpretation is up to you.