Anatomisch weergegeven figuren before 2002

Aat Verhoog made this etching of anatomical figures in black ink, and it’s a trip. It's interesting how the artist's hand is so present in the lines, they feel almost frantic, which brings a strange kind of life to these dead figures. Looking at the figure on the left, there’s this dense, almost scribbled quality to the mark-making, especially around the head and torso where the veins and arteries are. This contrasts with the figure on the right, which is more lightly rendered, like a ghost of the other. This area, a jumble of lines, reminds me of Cy Twombly, but with a macabre twist. Ultimately, this print embraces a certain ambiguity, a refusal to be pinned down to one interpretation. It invites us to contemplate the messy, intricate, and sometimes unsettling nature of the human form.