Head and Shoulders of Figure 1919 - 1920

Max Weber made this small woodcut, Head and Shoulders of Figure. It's all about process, I think, about the pleasure of carving and the surprises of printing. The color palette is pretty simple—brown, tan, black, and a pop of blue—but it's the textures that grab me. Look closely, and you can see the grain of the wood in the face, the way the knife slipped just a bit around the eyes. It reminds me of my own painting process, where accidents and mistakes often lead to something unexpected and cool. That long, white nose is my favorite part. It divides the face and is slightly off-center, giving it a sense of depth and dimension. Weber was a real modernist, always experimenting with new ideas. You can see some of the influence of Picasso or maybe even African masks in this piece. It's all part of the conversation, right?