Heuvellandschap met bomen 1913

Lodewijk Schelfhout made this print, of a wooded landscape, using etching. Look at the hatching and cross-hatching – all those tiny lines building up the forms. For me, that’s where the magic happens. It's not just about depicting trees; it’s about the physical act of mark-making. See how those lines create a dense, almost velvety texture? The ink sits on the paper, catching the light and creating a real, tangible surface. I love how Schelfhout uses the density of the marks to build the shapes of the trees. It's almost sculptural. Notice those short, curved strokes suggesting the leaves, they give the impression of movement, as if the wind is blowing through the trees. This reminds me of the woodcuts of the German Expressionist artist, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, where the rough, angular lines convey a raw, emotional intensity. With art, it's never about perfection; it’s about feeling, about the artist’s hand, and the traces they leave behind.