Head 1920

This is Max Weber's "Head," created with what seems to be a woodcut or linocut technique. The portrait, framed by a simple border, immediately strikes you with its bold shapes and somber tones. The artist's formal arrangement of the planes suggests a move toward simplification. The face is constructed from broad, geometric forms: a long, plum-colored nose descends from heavily lidded eyes, and a series of black horizontal lines form the hair. Weber employs a restricted palette, with shades of brown, red, black, and a touch of yellow, further emphasizing the work's graphic quality. The woodcut medium itself is crucial here; the stark lines and flat planes are a hallmark of early modern printmaking, reflecting a broader interest in abstraction and essential forms. Notice how Weber plays with positive and negative space, leaving much of the paper untouched to define the contours of the face. This interplay highlights the materiality of the print and the artist's engagement with the formal properties of the medium.