Camelia, links een bloem in knop 1920

Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita made this print of a camelia, probably sometime in the early 20th century. I can imagine Mesquita really looking, studying, and then carving the block with chisels, knives and gouges. It seems like he may have been inspired by Gauguin, but maybe also by Indonesian shadow puppets? What I love is the contrast he creates between light and dark. The flower emerges from the dark ground, a light form that’s both delicate and strong. The frame is amazing and strange! It looks like some kind of ancient border. You know, artists are always in conversation with each other, across time and space. We borrow and steal and build on what came before. And in that process, we find our own voice, our own way of seeing the world. Anyway, I think Mesquita was onto something special here, don’t you?