Rhine bridge in Köln 1914

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this ink drawing, "Rhine bridge in Köln," using expressive marks to build up a complex image. You can see that his artmaking is all about the process. Looking at this image, what stands out is the materiality of the ink and the rough paper, and the way they create a textured surface that almost vibrates with energy. The lines are not just descriptive, they're emotional. The way he's used the ink, you can almost feel his hand moving across the page, sometimes quickly, sometimes with more pressure, building up these dark, intense areas. Look at the top left, for example, the way the lines spread out to suggest the shape of the bridge, creating a feeling of depth and volume. Kirchner was part of the German Expressionist group Die Brücke, or "The Bridge." You can see a similar approach in the work of Emil Nolde, someone else who was interested in raw emotion, and the power of color and line. With art, it's more about asking questions than giving answers.