The Shepherd's Boy and the Wolf 1950

This is Antonio Frasconi's woodcut "The Shepherd's Boy and the Wolf". The black ink is powerfully graphic, almost violently scratched across the surface. You can really feel the artist carving into the block, making those decisive marks. I imagine Frasconi getting into the character of this naughty shepherd boy, his face contorted in mock terror. It’s all in the drama, right? He's staging his own little performance, and we, the viewers, become his unwitting audience. What I love about Frasconi is his commitment to narrative and his understanding of how art can be used to tell a story. This woodcut is not just an illustration of Aesop's fable, it's a commentary on human nature – our tendency to deceive, to panic, and to maybe even enjoy a little chaos now and then. I always think of the Italian Futurists when I see this sort of work. Artists are in an ongoing conversation. Ambiguity and uncertainty make way for multiple readings. What do you see?