De betoverde schotel / Of de nieuwsgierigheid gestraft c. 1902

This illustrated print titled, "The Enchanted Dish / Or Curiosity Punished", was made by Pellerin & Cie. Look at the way the colours have been laid down. It's a fairly simple and limited palette, but the way the artist uses gentle hatching and stippling gives a sense of depth and form to the characters. Artmaking is a process, and you can really see the steps taken to produce this image. When you look closely at the surface of the print you can see the texture of the paper, it's quite rough, and the ink sits on top, slightly raised. It is intriguing that the artist chose to embrace the imperfections of the printing process rather than try to conceal them. The overall effect is charming and naive. And that horse looks like it's straight out of a child's book! Which is not surprising, as this piece reminds me of the work of Wilhelm Busch, another storyteller who embraced ambiguity and multiple interpretations.