Seated Female Nude with Flower 1918

Heinrich Campendonk made this "Seated Female Nude with Flower" using woodcut, a relief printing technique. The stark contrast between black and white comes from the artist carving away the negative space from a block of wood, leaving the lines and shapes of the composition raised to catch ink. Woodcut is an old method, historically used for inexpensive reproduction of images and texts. Campendonk is engaging with this history, as well as with the German Expressionist movement, known for its raw and emotional style. The bold, angular lines and simplified forms create a sense of immediacy, as if the image was quickly and spontaneously created. Yet, the precision of the cuts reveals a high level of skill and control, with the artist deliberately leaving areas of the wood block untouched to create areas of solid black. By embracing the material qualities of wood and the graphic nature of the woodcut process, Campendonk challenges traditional notions of artistic value. He shows us that powerful expression can be found not just in the subject matter, but in the conscious engagement with materials and making.