Kerst- en nieuwjaarswens voor 1950-1951 van Polak & Schwarz 1950

This is a Christmas and New Year's greeting card for 1950-1951 by Polak & Schwarz, a linocut, all in black and white. I can imagine the artist using a sharp tool to carve away at the linoleum block, carefully removing the material to create the design. This must have taken absolute concentration, and the vision to see what it would look like, inverted, at the end. I like the way they show the windmill at night and make the blades move. The dark sky creates a dramatic contrast with the white, making the mill and landscape glow. What was the artist thinking as they made this? Were they looking at the Dutch Masters, or maybe the German Expressionists? Each cut must communicate a feeling, a meaning, or a simple intention. Artists respond to each other across time. It's an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas that keeps inspiring creativity, allowing for endless interpretations.