Tijger 1934

This striking image of a tiger was made by Tinus van Doorn, though we don't know exactly when. It’s a woodcut, which is a relief printmaking technique. Imagine the physical effort of carving into wood, removing slivers to reveal the image. There's something so direct and powerful about that process. I wonder, what was Tinus thinking as he created this image? I imagine him wanting to conjure something elemental and pure: a stylised animal against a stark background. There's something about the bold contrast of black and white that simplifies our encounter. The tiger isn't photorealistic; instead, its form is reduced to shapes. A series of white stripes and spots on the tiger’s body hint at its form. The simple rendering of the tree and the moon in the background create a sense of place, grounding the figure in a world. The act of reducing something to its essence, whether it's a tiger or a tree, is what connects artists across time. It's about finding the core of a thing and sharing that vision with others.