Bärtiger Alter (Original Title) 1906

This is Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s ‘Bärtiger Alter’, or ‘Bearded Old Man’, made with woodcut. Just imagine the carving, the artist really digging in there, cutting away at the block. It’s all about the stark contrast of black ink on that light paper. You can feel Kirchner’s hand in this; it’s rough and direct. Look at the way he’s described the face with these really economical, almost brutal lines. The beard’s a flurry of dark strokes, and the eyes are deep-set and intense. I wonder what Kirchner was thinking about when he made this? What he thought about aging and the inner lives of older men? There’s a grid pattern behind the man that sets him off. It’s interesting isn’t it, how the background almost merges into the face. Kirchner was part of ‘Die Brücke’, and you can see echoes of other expressionists in this work. It’s like they are all in conversation, all pushing the boundaries. It's a powerful piece, full of raw emotion, capturing something essential about human existence.