Groep kinderen 1898 - 1946

Abraham de Miranda made this print, *Groep kinderen*, or "Group of Children," as it translates, using dark and light washes of ink to summon a disquieting congregation of children. I try to imagine de Miranda bent over the plate, etching away with fierce concentration to describe the strange gathering, their little faces staring or glancing in different directions, the bold black lines creating the crowd. There's an eerie presence in the almost uniformly dark palette. De Miranda's use of shadow creates a mood that is almost menacing – the children are rendered both vulnerable and knowing, their eyes wide and piercing, the grinning mask like some phantasm. You can see the hand of someone like Munch in this picture, as well as the German Expressionists. Ultimately, this picture is part of a big conversation, a kind of endless game of telephone between artists. It seems to show the world as unstable, contradictory, and strange, and suggests that our understanding of it is always shifting.