Kalenderblad voor april 1912 met scholeksters en kieviten 1911

This is Theo van Hoytema’s calendar page for April 1912, with oystercatchers and lapwings, made somehow – I want to say it's a print, but maybe it's a drawing. The page is divided into two distinct zones – the upper section features a field teeming with birds, and below it, a calendar grid surrounded by more birds. I'm trying to imagine Hoytema making this piece, working away in his studio, the methodical process of rendering each bird, each date. The subtle color palette is really speaking to me. I am thinking about Hoytema patiently layering each line, each mark, carefully modulating the tonal range of the print. There is the soft green tone of the background and then the ochre and brown of the birds themselves. I feel the artist captured the movement, life, and energy of the birds. I'm kind of jealous he made this and I didn’t! But that’s ok, because that’s what art is for, right? To make us look and think and feel. Hoytema really makes me want to get back to work in my studio.