Kalenderblad oktober met leguaan 1905

This calendar page for October with an iguana was made by Theo van Hoytema. The printmaking process here is super interesting. Look at the layering of the different etched marks and the way the image feels alive. I’m drawn to the reptile’s head, poking up above the calendar grid. It’s a complex, almost architectural form, built out of these tiny marks, each one carefully placed. The colour is quite muted, isn’t it? Just a few tones, yet so much depth. You can really see the handmade process and this brings us closer to the artist's hand and the image itself. You know, the way Hoytema builds this image reminds me a bit of M.C. Escher. They both share an interest in printmaking and complex and unusual ways of seeing. But where Escher is all about mathematical precision, Hoytema brings this looser, more organic sensibility to his work. It’s a reminder that art is always a conversation, building on what’s come before, but always finding its own voice.