Vader Smit, Geelvinkbaai, Nederlands-Nieuw-Guinea 1920

Johannes Frederik Engelbert ten Klooster made this print of Vader Smit, Geelvinkbaai, Nederlands-Nieuw-Guinea. Just look at the way ten Klooster carved those waves, one by one. I imagine him, tool in hand, carefully gouging out the wood, each stroke precise yet somehow fluid. It's not just about depicting water; it's about capturing the essence of movement, the rhythm of the sea. There's a graphic quality to the way the island’s trees are rendered; like dark, dense clouds clinging to the land. The birds are like little musical notes, dancing across the sky. It makes me wonder what ten Klooster was thinking about when he made it. Did he feel a sense of adventure being so far from home? Or was he maybe thinking of artists like Hiroshige and Hokusai? When we look at art, we're not just seeing an image, we're joining a conversation that spans centuries, a conversation about how we see and understand the world.