Kalenderblad juni met jonge vogels 1901

This calendar sheet for June with young birds was made by Theo van Hoytema, and it’s a lithograph printed in color. You can tell that there's an understanding of artmaking as a process in how the artist rendered each insect differently. There's a beautiful sense of naturalism in the way the birds are rendered, but then also an almost scientific eye for detail in the rendering of the insects and calendar grid. The paper itself has a very gentle, organic tone. If you look closely at the edges of the bird's nest, you can see subtle tonal variations that evoke an almost dreamlike sense of depth, and this brings the whole image to life. I'm reminded of the graphic work of Walter Crane, someone who explored the natural world using bold graphic compositions. In both artists work there is an ambiguity, that makes you look and look again.