The Panting Brute c. 1932

Otto August Kühler made this print, "The Panting Brute," and well, it's like he's wrestling with this huge, mechanical beast, right? The brute itself is this massive train, rendered through these intricate, almost frantic lines. It's all hatching and cross-hatching, creating this dense, dark texture that feels almost sculptural. Look closely and you can see how the light catches on the curves of the engine, thanks to the varying pressure of the tool on the plate. What I find so interesting is how Kühler doesn't shy away from the grit and grime of it all. The smoke billows, the metal groans, and the workers seem dwarfed by the sheer scale of the machine. It reminds me a little of Joseph Pennell’s industrial scenes, this fascination with the raw power of industry, but Kühler’s got a more visceral, emotional edge. It's less about celebration, more about confrontation. It is that struggle that makes this piece so compelling, this sense of humanity grappling with the forces it has unleashed.