Woodblock for Fishing Boats (Fischerboote) 1918

Lyonel Feininger made this woodblock print of fishing boats sometime in the 20th century. Looking at the image, I'm struck by the artist's method of carving, subtracting from the block to create the image. I imagine Feininger standing over the wood, tool in hand, carefully chipping away at the surface. Each cut must have felt like a commitment, a step into the unknown. The black ink laid on the wood emphasizes the angular forms of the figures and boats. It almost feels like he is creating a stage set, each figure frozen in time and space. Think about the other German Expressionists working at the same time, like Kirchner, or Schmidt-Rottluff. You can see how artists are always in dialogue, even across time. Each one learning, borrowing, and responding to what came before, using their own tools and techniques to capture the world around them.