Harlekijn en hond 1939

Lodewijk Schelfhout made this print of a harlequin and dog, probably in the 1930s. Just look at the way he's built the image through this incredible shorthand of marks. The harlequin sits there on his little block, with this tragic clown face, and all I can think about is the feeling of being on display. I think a lot about the materiality of art, and in this print the marks feel very intuitive. The tone is achieved through these closely hatched lines, a bit like an engraving. I love how the block he is sitting on is so heavily worked, it becomes almost sculptural. It's like he is drawing into the block as much as he is drawing the harlequin. Then you see the little dog right at the bottom, it's amazing that the artist can create such a sense of scale, the dog looks tiny! There's something about the simplicity and playfulness of Joan Miró in this little dog. Art is just a conversation, isn't it?