Sitzende Alte 1902

Paula Modersohn-Becker made this etching, Sitzende Alte, using a reductive monochromatic palette. The grainy surface makes this image feel almost like it's emerging from a dream, a memory, or something half-seen. The old woman is depicted with a frankness, an honesty that feels way ahead of its time. Look at the marks on her hands, so softly rendered, but so expressive. There's a deep sense of respect in the way Modersohn-Becker captures her subject, avoiding sentimentality in favor of something rawer and more real. This approach reminds me of Käthe Kollwitz, who was also working around the same time, depicting the lives of working-class people with a similar sense of empathy and unflinching realism. Art is like an echo chamber, isn't it? Each artist responding to what came before, adding their own voice to the mix.