Jachtknecht 1878 - 1943

Willem van Konijnenburg created this etching called Jachtknecht. It's a dance of lines, isn't it? A crisscross of dark marks building form out of thin air. Look how the artist coaxes light and shadow to define the figure of the huntsman and his dog. You can sense the push and pull as he lays down the strokes, feels the plate resisting then yielding. I wonder what Van Konijnenburg was thinking about as he was making this? Was he thinking of other artists? Maybe old masters like Durer and Rembrandt? I see a lineage here, a conversation across time. The huntsman’s foot presses into the earth, while the dog strains forward, teeth bared. You can almost hear him barking, or feel the huntsman patting him, like 'good dog, good dog…' It's a moment captured, full of tension and anticipation. And you, the viewer, are drawn into that feeling, as if you are also part of the hunt, too.