Kale boom 1922

Arnold Pijpers made this print, "Kale boom", which translates as "bare tree", with woodcut. I can imagine Pijpers really digging into the block of wood, using chisels and gouges to carve out the image of this stark, leafless tree against what looks like a wintery sky. He's had to think in reverse, cutting away what he wants to stay white. I bet it was hard work! Look at the way the thick black lines define the branches. You can almost feel the cold wind whistling through them. It's pared back and raw, yet there’s something majestic about the tree's gnarled presence. This print reminds me of other artists who have explored nature through woodcut, like the German Expressionists. There’s a similar sense of melancholy and reverence for the natural world, expressed through this graphic language. Artists are always having this conversation, you know? They respond to one another across time and place. Each artwork an echo or a whisper in a chain of inspiration.