Twee koppen in ovaal 1926

Erich Wichmann made this etching called ‘Two Heads in Oval’ at an unknown date. It’s a tiny print, just a few inches tall, and mostly monochromatic except for the warm paper tone. The image emerges from a ground of etched lines, where the burr is still evident. Patches of tone are distributed unevenly, in a way that echoes the subject matter: a face, slightly asymmetrical. The surface is alive with incidental marks, scratches, and smudges – a whole history of process. Look at how the face seems to emerge from the darkness. It's like he's conjuring up a vision, one that seems to question the very nature of representation. The eyes are uneven, one barely visible, the other a blank circle, giving the impression of a mask or an otherworldly being. This kind of figuration seems reminiscent of James Ensor's more ghostly works. It makes you question what is real, what is imagined, and what lies in between.