Robert in the Theater 1918

Walter Gramatté made this etching, Robert in the Theater, using black ink on paper. The first thing that hits you is the sheer scratchiness of the marks, the way they build up the image out of a network of tiny lines. It's like he's trying to capture the feeling of being in a crowded theater, all those faces and bodies pressed together, with just a few marks. Up close, you can see how he uses these lines to create depth and texture. The face in the foreground is so detailed, every wrinkle and shadow is there, made of these tiny hatches and cross-hatches. Then, in the background, the lines get looser, more chaotic, suggesting the blur of the crowd. The hands, they're almost skeletal, gripping the edge of something, adding to the overall sense of unease. It reminds me a little of some of the German Expressionists, like Kirchner, who were also trying to capture the raw, unfiltered emotions of modern life. But Gramatté has his own thing going on, a kind of nervous energy that's all his own. For me, it speaks to the power of art to show us the world in ways we never expected, and to leave us with more questions than answers.