Stilleven 1919

Arend van Starrenburg made this still life print, with its cabbages and onions, sometime around 1900. The image is framed by a border, and the artist really commits to the idea of making the image an object. I love the way van Starrenburg uses a few simple lines to give form to the vegetables, the way the cabbages and onions come alive with just a few strokes. It’s so direct. And there’s a kind of raw honesty in the lines. Look at how each line varies in thickness, suggesting a hand-carved quality. The image is built up of tiny, irregular marks. It reminds me that art is always about the process of making, not just the end result. I’m reminded of the precision and care of someone like M.C. Escher. But while Escher is all about the trick of illusion, van Starrenburg is honest and earthy.