Louise Michel onder baldakijn 1896 - 1935

Mathieu Lauweriks made this woodcut, ‘Louise Michel onder baldakijn’, using a sharp knife to carve into a block. Imagine the artist carefully removing the wood to create this image of Louise Michel, an important French anarchist. The stark contrast and repetition of shapes is striking. The balance between light and dark creates a graphic quality, giving depth to the piece, but also flattening the image. What was Lauweriks thinking as he made the cut marks? The physical act of carving surely requires precision, focus, and a kind of meditative concentration. The black and white image has an activist message. But like many of my paintings, it also embraces multiple interpretations. The longer you look, the more the image opens up to ambiguity and uncertainty. Isn't it interesting how artists, across time, are in an ongoing conversation, inspiring one another’s creativity?