Ex libris van Carel Lion Cachet 1932

Carel Lion Cachet made this 'Ex libris' print, meaning 'from the books of' in Latin. The whole point is to show who owns a book in a simple, stylish way. Look closely, and you will see how the black ink sits slightly raised on the paper. It's almost like you can feel the texture of the woodblock itself, it’s far from a perfect finish, but what it lacks in refinement it more than makes up for in character! There’s something really pleasing about the way the lettering and foliage intertwine. The initials 'CLC' hover over the words 'Ex libris' and the dense border of leaves. This dance between text and image makes me think of the work of someone like William Blake, who combined word and image in a very similar way. I love how printmaking, like painting, becomes a conversation across time, each artist building on what came before, and this small artwork is no exception.