Jule- og nytårskort 1917

This Christmas and New Year card was made in 1917 by Axel Hou, using etching. You know, the thing about etching is that it's all about process, about how the acid bites into the metal. Look at the lines here, how they create these angelic figures, huddled together in this ethereal cloud. The lines aren't perfect; they're a little scratchy, a little uneven, and that's what makes it so beautiful. It's like you can see Hou's hand moving across the plate, the pressure he applied, the decisions he made in each moment. See that radiating light behind them? It feels both heaven-sent and maybe a little tongue-in-cheek. Hou’s contemporary, Emil Nolde, also made graphic works with strong religious imagery, and I wonder if they might have been kindred spirits? Anyway, it's a reminder that art is always a conversation, that we're all just riffing off each other. And it’s a reminder too, that there's no one "right" way to see or interpret a work of art.