Karikaturale figuur met open mond 1923

Erich Wichmann made this caricature of a figure with an open mouth using a dark, feathery charcoal in 1923. I imagine Wichmann hunched over this small piece of paper, pressing hard with the charcoal to capture the face. He seems to be working fast, hatching and blurring the strokes so that the figure barely emerges from the ground. I like the tonal range he’s achieved here; the subtle gradations of gray that almost make the figure glow from within. The mouth is a dark void, a gap in the surface that feels both humorous and slightly unsettling. It reminds me of other artists such as Ensor and Grosz who also captured psychological and emotional states through exaggerated caricatures of the human face. All these artists are in conversation with one another. And isn't that what painting is all about? An ongoing exchange of ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity. It’s a form of embodied expression which embraces ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations.