Windswept Firs 1919

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this print, Windswept Firs, using woodcut and ink. Look at the marks; they're like gashes, aren't they? This isn’t about rendering what he saw in the forest, but about getting something out, about expression, about the gut. The blue of the slender trees feels almost violent against the solid green background. See how the ink is thick in places, almost like it's been gouged onto the paper? Kirchner isn't trying to hide the process; he's flaunting it. The dark sky creates a feeling of unease. It's like a storm is coming, or maybe it’s already here, raging inside. There's a raw energy in Kirchner's work, a sense of urgency. You can see some similarities to Edvard Munch’s prints, although Kirchner takes it even further, pushing the limits of expression, unafraid to make a mark, and then another, and another, until the feeling is out there, on the paper, for all to see.