Yacht Racing (Jacht Wettsegeln) 1918

Lyonel Feininger made this woodcut, Yacht Racing, with some blocks and ink and paper at some point - when? Who knows! What I love here is how Feininger turned the scene into something like fractured glass, where the boats and the water break into all these different planes. Look closely and you can see how the texture of the wood comes through in each line and shape, giving the image a tactile quality. It feels like the artist is really digging in there, carving out each piece of the puzzle. The stark contrast between black and white adds to the drama, making the scene feel almost turbulent. Take the way the masts of the boats are rendered; they point upwards at these severe angles, making me think of German Expressionism. It reminds me a little bit of Kandinsky, but with boats! This is an image that is more about feeling than observation. There’s a wild freedom at work, in how the scene becomes a dance of light and shadow.