Mannen met luipaard c. 1970 - 1980

This print, "Mannen met luipaard," by Rein Dool, is all about the push and pull of dark ink on paper, a real balancing act. It feels like Dool was thinking out loud with his materials, letting the process guide him. The texture is key here, right? Look at the way the ink pools in certain areas, creating these dense, almost velvety blacks, while elsewhere it’s so sparse, it's barely there. The lines defining the figures and the leopard feel tentative, like Dool was searching for the right form, the right weight. Notice the looping line that runs across the leopard's back, a kind of visual shorthand that captures the animal's restless energy. It reminds me a bit of Picasso's more graphic works, that same sense of distilling form down to its bare essentials. But Dool brings his own sensibility to it, a kind of raw, unpolished honesty. It's a reminder that art isn't about perfection, it's about the messy, beautiful process of trying to make sense of the world.