Zeeleeuwen 1912

Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita made this print of sea lions, called Zeeleeuwen, using woodcut. The approach is wonderfully graphic, distilling the scene to black and white, solid forms and expressive textures. You can see how the making itself, the carving of the wood, is part of the image. Look at the base where the sea lions are resting. It's made up of these irregular, faceted shapes, like cobblestones. You can almost feel the gouge of the tool that carved them. And then, above, the water is depicted with these long, flowing lines, giving a sense of constant movement. Notice how the artist used the negative space, the white, to define the ripples and waves. That little bird floating in the water, it’s like a punctuation mark in the composition. De Mesquita’s work has a strong connection with that of MC Escher, who was one of his students. Both artists embrace the graphic potential of printmaking, and the way a limited palette can open up new possibilities for seeing the world. Art is really just a conversation between people, images, and ideas.