Boer en boerin 1924

This woodcut, made by Jo Bezaan, pictures a farmer and his wife, rendered in stark black lines against a cream background. It feels like a windy day, doesn’t it? You can sense the graphic impact Bezaan was after, how each cut of the block defines not just form, but also feeling. I imagine Bezaan working, pressing the blade into the wood, deciding where to carve away, and where to leave the surface intact. What kind of pressure did she apply? The way the faces are rendered – that heavy brow on the man, the way the woman's eyes look – there's a real empathy there. You can tell she saw these people, knew them, maybe even was one of them. It reminds me of other printmakers like Kollwitz, how they used the medium's directness to convey real human emotion. This piece isn't just a picture, it's a statement. It’s about the lives and labor of ordinary people, elevated by Bezaan’s hand and vision. Artists look at other artists, you know?