The Promise 1920

Hans Meid made this etching, called The Promise, using a metal plate and acid, sometime in the first half of the 20th century. The image feels caught, like it’s emerging or dissolving—a world half-seen. Look at the lines. They swarm and gather, building up dense thickets and deep shadows. Then, they open out again, into lighter, web-like areas. Notice the fallen tree in the foreground. It’s like a dark threshold, a crossing point, marked by those almost scribbled lines that build its form. A figure stands further back, surrounded by the vertical lines of the trees, and seems to be looking out, or waiting. This etching reminds me of Käthe Kollwitz. Both artists share an interest in the expressive potential of printmaking and a deep empathy for the human condition. But where Kollwitz is often overtly political, Meid hints at the promise of something else, something just beyond our grasp. That ambiguity is what makes this piece so compelling.