The Forge 1920

This etching is by Hans Meid. I imagine him hunched over the metal plate, scraping away at the surface, building up this nocturnal scene one tiny, dark line at a time. Look at how he uses the cross-hatching to create these deep shadows! It's as if the figures are emerging from the darkness itself. There's a real tension here. Who are these characters? What's going on? The artist doesn't tell us, but invites us to imagine. Meid was working at a time when printmaking was undergoing a real revival. Artists were rediscovering these older techniques and finding new ways to use them. Like Kirchner or Heckel, who used printmaking for their stark and emotionally charged expressionist works. I'm sure they were all in conversation, challenging and inspiring each other. And that's the thing about art, right? It's an ongoing dialogue across generations, a constant push and pull that keeps evolving.