Sluierstaart 1892 - 1931

Henri Verstijnen made this print of a goldfish, called "Sluierstaart," and you can see the hand of the artist in every mark. The blocky strokes and the way the colors blend suggest a real engagement with the material, a conversation between the artist and the wood. Look at how the cool green background contrasts with the warm, almost metallic, sheen of the fish. The texture is everything here; you can almost feel the grain of the wood in the way the ink settles on the paper. The lines that define the fins aren’t just outlines; they’re alive, with a kind of shivering energy. This piece has a kindred spirit in the work of someone like Emil Nolde, who wasn't afraid to let the rawness of the materials speak. Both of them show how art can be as much about the process as the final image, embracing the happy accidents along the way.