Head and Shoulders of Figure 1919 - 1920

This is Max Weber's Head and Shoulders of Figure, a small print made with blocks of wood and some green ink. Look at the way Weber carves into the wood, like a sculptor, but he's a painter, thinking about how to create a striking image with very few marks. I imagine Weber in his studio, maybe thinking about Cubism or even ancient sculpture, trying to capture a face in its simplest form. See that long, white line forming the nose? It’s so simple, yet it gives the whole figure its character. It’s like he's trying to strip away all the unnecessary details and get to the essence of what it means to be human, or at least, to represent a human. Weber was part of a generation of artists who were looking at art from all over the world, trying to find new ways to see and feel. Painting is all about conversations, right? Each artist builds on what came before, and I find it amazing to think about how these artists inspire each other across time. It’s a never-ending exchange of ideas.