Edda, der Weltbrandt 1923

Joseph Weisz made this expressive print, Edda, der Weltbrandt, with stark black and white marks that really get under your skin. You can almost feel the pressure of the artist's hand as he carved away at the block to reveal the image. It's a process of removal, of finding the image within the material. The textures here are amazing, aren’t they? Look at how the lines carve out the figure on the horse, and then explode outwards to suggest movement, or maybe even some kind of cataclysmic event. The wildness of the mark making conveys a raw and emotive state. Then you see the mountains, small and jagged in the background, rendered with short, sharp jabs. It's like looking at a landscape through a shattered mirror. Weisz's prints remind me a little of Edvard Munch, but with a coarser touch, a rougher edge. It's this very roughness that gives the image its power, its intensity. It's not about perfection or polish, but about expressing something urgent and deeply felt.