Zwei nackte Mädchen mit Blumen (Original Title) 1923

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this woodcut, Two Nude Girls with Flowers, sometime in the early 20th century. The stark contrast of black and white reminds us of the raw, physical act of carving the wood, a process of both creation and destruction. Look at the way Kirchner used these graphic marks to define the figures. See the deep, almost brutal cuts that form the women's bodies, full of jagged edges? It's like he's not just depicting them, but also exposing a kind of vulnerability, maybe even a bit of violence in the way we look at each other. The lines create dynamic, angular forms that simultaneously define shape and create texture. The one nude closest to us clutches a bouquet of flowers, while the other looks down upon her, are the blooms a gift? Or something else? Kirchner's contemporary Edvard Munch used line in a similar way, but Kirchner's style is so immediate, so forceful. This piece invites us to consider the nature of mark-making itself, and how it shapes our perceptions of the world.