Kat met staart omhoog before 1939

This is Tip van Schoonhoven van Beurden’s ‘Kat met staart omhoog’, or ‘Cat with Tail Up’, made with pen and ink. I love the way the image is built up in layers of tiny lines, a bit like hatching in a drawing. You can really see the artist thinking through the form with each little stroke. The texture is amazing, right? Look at the body of the cat – it's all these tightly packed lines, giving a sense of depth and volume. And then compare that to the background, where the lines are much more open and airy, creating this cool contrast. I love how the cat's tail mirrors the shape of the bare tree branches in the background, a gesture that brings the whole composition together. It reminds me a little of the work of Alfred Kubin, that same kind of playful, slightly macabre sensibility. It's a reminder that art is an ongoing conversation, always echoing and riffing on what's come before.