The Daily Valdemar No. 62: May 14

Valdemar Andersen, cover for Dyrenes Liv (The Lives of Animals)
by A.E. Brehm, Gyldendal, 1928.

Today's moment of calm is the aesthetics of the hardly there.

Before us is a ballet or of course it is a fight between two Rhombodera Basalis or Giant Malaysian Shield Mantis in which they strike out, wings basking for balance and so intertwined that we get to see every detail of their anatomy while not being able to decide what belongs to whom.

Valdemar Andersen, sketch for Dyrenes Liv (The Lives of Animals)
by A.E. Brehm, 1927/29 - the bear was used for posters too in both
a red and black version.
The photo was taken through a glass frame and I apologise
for the quality of the photo. Private collection.

There is a sad truth to this cover and to the other at least 29 booklet covers just as the posters made to promote the series that it was among the last Valdemar did in his life. He may have had it all ready in time or there may have been other ideas for his drawings, but the covers and posters were printed on coarse unbleached paper with just the red text/black drawing or vice versa as if they were sketched directly on the printing stone. 

The idea may have originated from the actual sketches for the animals, which are but ca. 5 cm. tall and sketched out with a piece of paper tightly folded together and dipped in ink. It is a method, which adds texture with but a few dabs and strokes to the paper. And then there was life.