Berge (Original Title) 1919

This is ‘Berge’, or ‘Mountains’, a woodcut made by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, likely around the time of the First World War. Woodcut is a relief printing technique - the artist carves into a block of wood, leaving a raised surface that is then inked and printed. In this case, the bold, jagged forms of the mountains are achieved through expressive carving. The grain of the wood itself adds texture, visible in the final print. Kirchner was a leading figure in German Expressionism, a movement that embraced raw emotion and often turned to ‘primitive’ techniques, like woodcut, for their directness. The process allows for strong contrasts and graphic simplicity, as we can see here, and also a degree of unpredictability. Each print will vary slightly, making them unique artworks in their own right. Consider how this differs from industrial modes of production, where the aim is uniformity. In ‘Berge’, the hand of the artist is always present, in every impression.