Ploegende ossen before 1928

Bernard Essers made this square woodcut, Ploegende Ossen, sometime in the first half of the twentieth century. Just imagine Essers carving into the block, the focused labor, the give and take between intention and accident. The composition, mostly in black ink, depicts an agrarian scene, with a figure leading oxen, a horse and rider, a pyramid-like structure, and a massive tree filled with birds. It’s an image of work, of landscape, and of life. I’m thinking about how the labor of carving makes the image, the artist making the print of labor. How does this relate to his wider practice? Did the limitations of the wood, the grain, or the tools help him discover new forms? Is there an exchange of ideas between artists, across time, each inspiring one another’s creativity? There’s always so much to be discovered when we embrace ambiguity and uncertainty.