Man reading (Father) 1917

Walter Gramatté’s ‘Man Reading (Father)’ is full of dark colours, yet alive with tonal energy and the artist’s careful observations of the sitter. There’s so much weight in this image, so much mood. I keep imagining the artist, maybe in a cramped studio, turning his attention to his father to make this painting. Look at those brushstrokes, so full of feeling! It feels like a constant process of looking, squinting, and responding—almost a conversation in paint. The paint is quite thick, isn’t it? Especially around the face, where Gramatté carefully models the form. It’s hard to know exactly what Gramatté was thinking, but I wonder if he was interested in artists like Kirchner and Heckel, part of a group of painters known as Die Brücke, who also approached portraiture with such directness and sensitivity. It’s as if all these painters are having a dialogue with each other across time, pushing each other to be more expressive, more in tune with their subjects.