Kalenderblad voor juni 1910 met boerenzwaluwen op een telefoonkabel 1909

This is Theo van Hoytema's calendar sheet for June 1910, buzzing with swallows and insects. I can imagine Van Hoytema hunched over this, carefully layering the colors, making the image materialize. You know, making something like this is like conducting an orchestra. Each mark, each insect buzzing around the border, has to be just right. The birds are beautifully observed, a kind of tonal harmony. The texture is smooth, yet I feel the scratch of the artist's hand, patiently building up the image. I wonder if he ever felt like giving up, like it wasn't working? I know I do, all the time! It's a patient and loving piece. It puts me in mind of other artists who observe nature and its rhythms. Art is really about conversation, isn't it? We see the world differently because of what someone else made, once upon a time. And what we make changes the way someone else might see in the future.