Verliebt 1912

Christian Rohlfs’ print “Verliebt” from around 1916 is a red fever dream. This is an etching, so the artist is inking a plate, wiping it, and pressing it onto paper. I can imagine him inking the plate over and over. What was he thinking? The figures are stark. The standing one with his hand on his heart looks pained, maybe desperate. The one below is looking up, imploring. I'm thinking of Munch's Scream, of course. Rohlfs is an expressionist like Munch, so it’s all about feeling. The feeling is in the scratchy lines, the nervous energy of the mark-making. I wonder how he felt making this? The red ink makes it feel raw and immediate. Etchings, like paintings, can be so much about process. He’s probably been looking at other prints, at other painters. We all are, you know?