Mary Magdalen 1926

Eric Gill created this wood engraving of Mary Magdalen. It's a print, so it's all about the contrast between the black ink and the untouched paper. The crisp lines have a graphic quality, a real boldness that comes from carving away at the wood block. Look at the way Gill renders the hair, it's like he's drawing with a knife. You can almost feel the pressure of the tool cutting through the wood. And the faces – so stylized, so intense. The texture is all in those lines, a real physicality to the image. This reminds me a little of some of the German Expressionists, like Kathe Kollwitz, who used woodcuts to create images with social and political commentary. Gill brings a similar intensity to his religious subjects, inviting us to meditate on themes of devotion and sacrifice. Art, for me, is a conversation across time, and this print speaks volumes.