Head of a Shepherd 1917

Curator: This is Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's "Head of a Shepherd," a woodcut print currently held at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: The stark black and white and deep cuts give it a rough, almost tormented feel, wouldn't you say? Curator: Absolutely. Woodcut was critical to the Expressionist movement; Kirchner and his contemporaries embraced the medium's raw, graphic potential to convey intense emotion and commentary on the social landscape. The labor of carving emphasizes this directness. Editor: Note how the figure of the shepherd, almost overwhelmed by the mountainous landscape behind him, is visually echoed in the calf he holds. Could this suggest the cyclical nature of life, or perhaps the burdens of tradition? Curator: Perhaps, but it also speaks to the means of production and the relationship between humans and animals. Editor: It's a powerful, if unsettling, image of both the man and his environment. Curator: Indeed, a testament to the expressive capabilities inherent in both subject and material.