Rape II (Raub II, Weib halb) 1911

This print by Wilhelm Lehmbruck, titled *Rape II* looks like it was created with a drypoint needle on a copper plate. You can imagine the artist hunched over the plate, pressing down with the tool to create those velvety lines. I’m really drawn to the way the figures emerge from the scratched surface of the plate. Lehmbruck’s mark-making is so raw, it reminds me of Käthe Kollwitz. It looks like he may have used a scraper to burnish areas of the plate, creating subtle tonal effects. Maybe he was thinking about Rodin as he made this? The title is jarring. I wonder what Lehmbruck thought he was doing when he called this work 'rape'. Ultimately, artists are always in dialogue with one another, building upon and responding to the ideas of those who came before. And hopefully, learning from the mistakes too!