Kalenderblad augustus met kaketoe 1901

This calendar page for August, featuring a cockatoo, was made by Theo van Hoytema, and I love its quirky charm. It's got this lovely terra-cotta color, and all these monkeys climbing around the edges! The printmaking process gives it a graphic quality, like a woodcut, but with finer lines. The way Hoytema renders the cockatoo's feathers, with these small, deliberate strokes, it's like he’s building the bird, piece by piece. And the bird feels so sad! It reminds me of those moments in the studio when you're just trying to figure things out, one mark at a time. Hoytema's whole sensibility here makes me think of someone like Redon, who also created his own personal symbolism. It feels like a conversation between artists across time, each with their own weird, beautiful vision. I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm happy that art can still throw you a curveball.