The Great Fear 1918

Curator: Walter Gramatté’s “The Great Fear,” is a powerfully expressive print. Editor: Yes, the raw, almost frantic energy of the line work immediately strikes me. There's a real sense of unease radiating from the subject's face and the disjointed hand. Curator: Given Gramatté’s own struggles with mental health, it’s hard not to see this work as a reflection of internal turmoil, of the very real anxieties of life in the early 20th century. Editor: I agree, and the artist’s rendering of eyes is especially unnerving. Their prominent position and heightened detail intensify the overall disquiet. Curator: Absolutely, it becomes a potent expression of the psychological landscape of fear, doubt, and the search for identity. Editor: Gramatté certainly invites us to meditate on our own inner anxieties, and I am struck by his effective use of simple lines to convey such powerful emotion.