Near Ghent (Bei Gent) (recto) and Mountain Goats (Bergziegen) (verso) 1916

Erich Heckel created this evocative landscape, "Near Ghent," using woodcut techniques. This isn't painting or sculpture, but printmaking, a medium with its own potent history. The stark, black lines carved into the wood block and then transferred to paper lend the scene its raw, expressive quality. Look at the way Heckel uses these lines: thick, bold strokes define the riverbank, while finer, more delicate marks suggest the bare branches of the trees. The woodcut process itself is important here. It’s a relatively direct, even brutal, method. You have to physically remove material to create the image. There’s no room for subtlety or blending. This directness is crucial to the Expressionist aesthetic, where emotions are laid bare. It also speaks to the social context. Printmaking was a democratic medium, allowing for wider distribution of art at a time of great social upheaval. This wasn’t art for the elite, but art for the people, carrying a message of change and immediacy.