Two Snow Hares (Twee Sneeuwhazen) – Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita (1911) – Vintage Lithograph Canvas Print

Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita’s Two Snow Hares (Twee Sneeuwhazen) transforms a simple woodland scene into an exercise in bold graphic abstraction. Two white hares nestle between tall tree trunks, their simplified silhouettes standing in stark contrast against an intensely textured field of black. De Mesquita reduces the animals almost entirely to contour and shape, while the densely repeated vertical strokes of the surrounding forest create a dramatic sense of pattern and depth. The result is both naturalistic and highly ornamental, with the stark black-and-white palette giving the composition a distinctly modern character.

Created in 1911, the woodcut is an unusual subject within de Mesquita’s animal imagery. The Rijksmuseum notes that the artist generally favored exotic animals, making the snow hare an uncommon choice; here, nature serves primarily as a starting point for ornament rather than detailed observation. He deliberately omits shadows and internal details from the hares, allowing their clean silhouettes to dominate the composition, with only the overlapping ear of the lower hare establishing their spatial relationship. The combination of stylized animals, rhythmic linework, and decorative patterning makes Two Snow Hares an especially elegant example of early 20th-century Dutch graphic art.

 

🖨️ Print features:

– Sustainable canvas stretched on radial pine frame

– Unique canvas coating for top-notch image quality

– Soft rubber dots on bottom back corners for support

– Safe latex inks for non-toxic printing

– Back hanging included

– Inner frame made with radiata pine sourced from renewable forests

– Please note: Due to the production process of the canvases, please allow for slight size deviations with a tolerance +/- 1/8″ (3.2mm)

– Care instructions: If the canvas does gather any dust, you may wipe it off gently with a clean, damp cloth.

 

🚚 Fulfillment, Shipping, and Return Policy:

– Printed and shipped from the U.S.

– As our items are unique and made to order, we can only accept a return or exchange in the event that an item arrives damaged or misprinted. We cannot accept returns if you order the wrong size or change your mind. Any return requests must be made within 14 days of receiving the order.

 

💬 Questions? Looking for something else, or want something in a different size? Feel free to reach out anytime; we’ll see what we can do!