Jule- og nytårskort 1936

This holiday card was created by Axel Hou, who lived from 1860 to 1948. Look at the sharp lines scratched into the metal plate, describing the figure of a man chopping wood against a landscape with the Virgin Mary seated with a child and angels hovering above them. Imagine the artist, hunched over the plate, carefully and meticulously etching each line with a sharp tool. Did he pause to consider the composition? Or did he let his hand guide him, allowing the image to emerge organically from the material? The artist probably knew that line work can build atmosphere, like the contrast between the dark, dense hatching in the foreground and the lighter, more delicate lines in the background, creating a sense of depth and space. Hou invites us to contemplate the relationship between the sacred and the mundane, the earthly and the divine, in this intimate and thought-provoking print.