Large Bridge (the _Eiserne Steg_ in Frankfurt am Main) 1922

Max Beckmann made this print of the Eiserne Steg, or Iron Bridge, in Frankfurt am Main, using stark black lines to construct the scene. Can you feel the weight of the metal structure? I’m thinking about the process of incising lines into a plate, how physical that is, like a kind of drawing meets sculpture. I wonder if Beckmann felt like he was building the bridge all over again, line by line? And that bridge, cutting across the river, it must have been such a symbol of modernity and connection when it was first built. Look how those jagged lines describe the architecture. It's like the buildings are breathing, vibrating. Beckmann was part of a generation wrestling with how to represent a world that was changing so rapidly, and I see him really grappling with the push and pull of tradition and modernity here. Other artists like Kirchner were also dealing with similar themes. The artist is in conversation with their contemporaries and with history. It makes you realize that no artwork exists in a vacuum.