The Finding of Lizaveta (Book III: The Sensualists, facing p.78) 1949

Fritz Eichenberg made this print, called 'The Finding of Lizaveta,' with a sharply contrasting black-and-white palette. I can imagine Eichenberg, bent over the printing plate, etching and incising, his focus intense. Look at how those figures loom over the vulnerable body of Lizaveta, their faces grotesque masks of avarice and glee. What do you think he might have been thinking as he rendered the scene? Maybe he felt a sense of urgency, fueled by his own experience of war and displacement. The stark lines and dramatic shadows do not hold back. The texture is palpable, right? You can almost feel the weight of those top hats, the roughness of the ground beneath Lizaveta. The composition invites us to consider our own relationship to vulnerability and power. Eichenberg, like so many artists, prompts us to see the world anew, inspiring us to engage in the ongoing conversation that is art.