Young Girl with Doll 1916

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this print, "Young Girl with Doll," using woodcut. Look at how the lines are really raw and direct, you can almost feel him carving into the wood. The black ink is laid down unevenly, giving it a gritty texture. The face of the young girl has a solemn expression. Her eyes look a little sad. See how the lines around her mouth turn downwards? She clutches a doll, maybe for comfort, but even the doll looks a little worse for wear. Now, check out the area around the doll's head. Notice how Kirchner uses short, choppy lines to create a sense of depth and shadow. These marks feel urgent, like he's trying to capture a fleeting emotion or a memory. Kirchner’s rough and angular style was part of the Expressionist movement. It's all about feeling, not just seeing, and that’s what makes his work so powerful. It reminds me a little of Paula Modersohn-Becker, another German Expressionist also interested in the inner lives of women.