Boer before 1931

Else Berg made this woodcut print called "Boer", the name for Dutch settlers in South Africa. Looking at the stark contrasts between black and white, I can almost feel the artist pressing the woodblock onto paper. I imagine the concentration and physical effort involved in carving the image. I get a sense of the artist's hand – a certain roughness that speaks to the labor of its making. The bold lines and simplified forms remind me of early 20th-century Expressionist prints, but with a folksy twist. I think of Paula Modersohn-Becker, and her woodcuts with similar themes. There's a rawness to it. Did Berg also explore the lives of farmers in the countryside like Becker? Ultimately, this piece feels like a moment frozen in time, an intimate glimpse into the lives of people far away. Each artwork is like a breadcrumb in the forest of art history, isn't it?