Frogs Beware!!

Several approaches went into making this woodcut. The silken water was formed by stiff brush bristles on the woodblock. The fish scales were likely printed with color-soaked netting. And the waves, which encircle the pike like a little tutu, involved some very fussy carving. If these techniques don’t seem to work together perfectly, it may be because in 1939, the year of this print, Kay Simmelhag had bigger fish to fry. The Denmark Aquarium opened that year, and he had been commissioned to decorate the exhibit walls with his mosaics.