Compositie no. 15 1915

Curator: Welcome. Before us hangs Jacoba van Heemskerck's woodcut from 1915, entitled "Compositie no. 15." It’s currently held here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: My initial response is that it looks like an explosion in a carpentry shop! These stark contrasts—the bold blacks and whites—they create such dynamic, fractured spaces. Almost a visual haiku made of architectural debris. Curator: Precisely. Consider the semiotics at play here. The work dismantles representational norms in favor of pure, geometric forms. We see the clear influence of Cubism with elements of Art Nouveau, where line and shape dictate the entire composition, inviting viewers to deconstruct and reassemble the image. Editor: Yeah, I feel the urge to start rearranging these shapes and forms, imagining a city rising from the ashes. I like that it’s a woodcut—the deliberate cuts and gouges in the block translate to such immediacy on the paper. There's a rawness, a sense of something being hewn, not just drawn. Curator: The materiality enhances the abstraction. Each precisely carved line serves as both structure and form, thus allowing the stark contrasts of light and shadow to generate tension, reflecting the unease of pre-war Europe at the time of creation. Editor: Absolutely, the way it all interlocks feels ominous, like looking into the cogs of a machine that's about to break down. But despite the angst, there's beauty, too. It's that weird fascination we have with destruction. Curator: And the reduction of visual information—the flattening of perspective—compels the viewer to engage more actively with the piece. To discern order in apparent chaos, thus providing some resolution. Editor: The composition has gotten me thinking a lot about how our memories can be fractured too, you know? Distorted like a reflection in broken glass, where only shards of the whole story remain visible. It’s quite effective. Curator: Indeed. Ultimately, van Heemskerck challenges us to not simply look, but to actively decode our visual reality and seek deeper connections within abstraction. Editor: It definitely sticks with you. These bold shapes, with the push and pull between them—it becomes a visual puzzle you want to spend more time unraveling. I am certain each person sees a new piece every time they engage.