Ex libris van Tekla 1932

Kornél Révész’s "Ex libris van Tekla" is an image just brimming with playful energy. A bookcase becomes a kind of vase for cascading flowers, made using striking graphic shapes. I can imagine Révész, back in the day, carefully planning each layer, thinking about how the colors and shapes would interact. There’s something so charming in its simplicity, the way the black ink defines the forms, offset with that delightful blue. It's like he's saying, 'Let's make something beautiful and useful, all in one go!' It reminds me of early modernist design, where function and art were meant to be, well, best friends. The little figure on the right, kneeling and reading, is a gem. You can almost feel the quiet joy of getting lost in a book. Révész knew how to capture a mood with just a few strokes. And when you put it all together, this little print is like a love letter to books and the people who read them.