L'après midi du peintre (Original Title) 1927

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this woodcut print, ‘L’après midi du peintre’, and in it, I see the artist himself, surrounded by models, probably in his studio. The dominant blacks and whites are sliced and hewn, rather than painted, but you can still feel the pressure of the artist against the wood, cutting away, paring back. I bet that was physical work! Looking at the lines, you can tell Kirchner wasn't messing around. He knew exactly where he wanted to go. I'm imagining him, block of wood in front of him, tools laid out, thinking about composition, about how to capture the scene, not just visually, but emotionally, too. Kirchner made a lot of woodcuts and prints, maybe because it chimed with his interest in German Expressionism, a movement of feeling that really wanted to break away from tradition. I wonder, did he see himself as part of that conversation? I bet he did. Artists always do!