Woonwagens 1924

Editor: So, this woodcut is called *Woonwagens*, made in 1924 by Jo Bezaan. It’s currently housed at the Rijksmuseum. I'm struck by the intensity of the black and white – it gives the whole scene a real dramatic feel. What catches your eye when you look at this, what’s your interpretation? Curator: Well, first, doesn't that title just roll off the tongue with a sense of home, of rootedness... and yet the image itself hints at a life always on the move? Notice the dense thicket of trees that confine our gaze. What kind of emotional impact do you think that's having on us as viewers? Editor: I see what you mean! The title implies a kind of rustic domesticity, but those sharp, angular shapes, and the way the light and shadow fight...it feels almost unsettling, not peaceful at all. Curator: Precisely! There is definitely a push and pull between the idyll of the title, the reality of the sharp expressionist forms, and what may actually be the experience of nomadic people at that time. How might we interpret their place and that of the domestic horses in this somewhat contained wooded scene, for instance? Editor: It almost feels as if the landscape is encroaching upon the figures. A reflection perhaps on the vulnerability of transient life? I hadn’t thought of it that way. Curator: It is quite remarkable! It goes to show how a deceptively simple print can open a whole can of questions. An amazing work, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Absolutely, I love that so much is conveyed with just black and white and a small woodcut. It really adds so much more to the historical record of life at the time!