Vier populieren voor een huis 1887 - 1924

Julie de Graag made this print of four poplars before a house sometime in the early 20th century. There's a real economy to her marks, the house is just a few lines and a block of tone, but it feels solid, anchored. Look at the way she renders the trees, the marks are so alive, somehow both descriptive and totally abstract. Each little stroke feels like a decision, a response to the material. The texture is everything in a print like this. I'm reminded of Agnes Martin, another artist who knew how to do so much with an apparent minimum. Both show that simplicity can be deceptive, and that the smallest gesture can hold a whole world. Ultimately, the beauty of this piece comes from de Graag's embrace of process, of letting the medium speak and not trying to control every little thing.