Kalenderblad december met roodborstjes 1903

This calendar page for December, with robins, was made by Theo van Hoytema, and is now at the Rijksmuseum. You know, when you start pulling apart how things are made, how it’s put together, you can see it as a process. This lithograph gives me pause, partly due to its textures and the subtle color palette. It's mostly greens and browns, very wintry, but the surface looks almost like it's been scrubbed, or maybe even corroded somehow. Up close, the strokes aren't trying to be smooth. Look at the icicles – they're both solid and dissolving at the same time, which feels like time passing. The robins themselves, they're puffed up against the cold, looking pretty serene, like they're in on some secret about the season. It reminds me a little of the work of someone like Josef Albers. The piece is not about a static image, but an ongoing investigation, and an exploration of feeling. It's about how we see, and how seeing changes us.