Spritzende Badende 1916

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this colour woodcut, "Spritzende Badende" – or "Splashing Bathers" – with, well, wood, and ink. There’s something about the angularity of Kirchner’s forms that really gets me; the water looks rough, and the people are all elbows and knees. It's like he's not just depicting a scene, but also showing you the process of how he got there, all those cuts and marks. Look at the figures emerging from the water – they're almost purple, like bruises. Is this supposed to be a nice day at the beach? I don’t think so. Kirchner was part of the “Die Brücke” group, and they were all about expressing raw emotion. You can see the influence of Edvard Munch in the colour palette, and the angst in the way he depicts the figures in the water. It feels like he's hinting at something darker just below the surface.