Self-Portrait in Studio 1922

This woodcut, Self-Portrait in Studio, was made by Max Pechstein, probably in his studio sometime in the 1920s. The process of cutting into the wood, gouging out the material to leave only the image, is a very physical, thoughtful act. I wonder what Pechstein was thinking as he carved those lines around his face and that strange little figure in the foreground? Those strong black lines really emphasize form. It’s like he's building up the image, bit by bit. He’s playing with the textures too, the way the wood grain comes through in the background. There's something so direct about woodcut. It makes me think about the German Expressionists and the Fauves, and how they used these materials to express intense emotions. Like a conversation across time, all these artists are building on each other’s work, riffing off ideas, and pushing the boundaries of what art can be. It is not just an image, but a record of a physical encounter, an act of making.