Kalenders voor oktober, november en september 1904 1904

Theo van Hoytema made this calendar for October, November and September 1904, and it's like looking at a memory. Hoytema's work is all about process, and the monochrome palette here – variations on a theme of pale yellow – sets a quiet, contemplative tone, doesn't it? The texture is soft, almost like a watercolor, with translucent washes of color that create a sense of depth. There are these great framed panels on either side, but it's the central image that really gets me – a figure with a pitcher, surrounded by this thorny, zig-zaggy border. It feels both protective and a little menacing, like a childhood dream. You can almost feel the scratch of the tool he used to make those marks. For me, Hoytema is working in a similar vein to someone like Hilma af Klint, finding a personal symbology, and turning it into a really interesting personal language. The beauty of art is that it doesn't have to give you all the answers; it just has to spark something.