Nacktes Mädchen mit jungen Katzen (Original Title) 1919

This etching by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, "Naked Girl with Young Cats," is all about lines, like a map of feelings drawn with acid on metal. The gray tones feel moody, like a rainy day in Berlin. Looking closer, you can almost feel the scratch of the needle across the plate. The way he uses these jagged, broken lines to form the figure, it reminds me of how we piece together our own identities, bit by bit. Check out the cat pile, barely there, a scumble of lines which somehow conjure a soft, feline mass. Kirchner, like Picasso, was obsessed with the figure, and how to push it, pull it, and break it apart. This print feels connected to other German Expressionists like Heckel and Schmidt-Rottluff, who were also trying to capture the raw, unfiltered experience of modern life. Ultimately, Kirchner leaves us with questions, not answers, and that's what makes his work so compelling.