I just learned that the Netherlands has a long history of paper cuts, the artworks made by cuttiing a single sheet of paper. Hardly information about the Dutch tradition is available in English so I gathered together a few highlights. (Incidentally I also just found out there is a Jewish paper cut tradition going back 500 years. You may have seen Chinese paper cuts around; they’re much better known.) One Dutch paper cut artist I like a lot is Hil Bottema (1913-1968). Much of her work is printed matter based on paper cuts. I don’t know whether she did them originally as paper cuts or just drew them in that style.
My favorites are her New Year’s cards.. Click images to enlarge.
Postage stamps and pages from an informational booklet that accompanied them. The stamps are for Christmas and other holidays and have a surcharge that benefits children’s charities.
Posters. The first two are for the Netherlands Open Air Museum in Arnhem, which is a collection of historic buildings with reenactment actors but also has a large collection of paper cuts.
Board game of the Open Air Museum. Besides waffles, there seem to be cakes and cookies in the center which I suppose are “prizes” for the winner.
Other Dutch paper cuts from the 1700s and 1800s except as noted. In the bottom row, a ship seems to be hanging over the pews in a church and that’s exactly what it is. Dutch churches in towns with ports often have ship models hanging from the ceiling.
There are good paper cuts being made today but many have a labor-intensive virtuosity that doesn’t grab me like the older Dutch ones. Too much wow-factor and not enough charm, inspiration or emotional depth. I don’t hate these recent ones but I wouldn’t hang them on my wall or consider myself a fan like I would with the Dutch ones.
