Two Sisters 1908

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s print, Two Sisters, is made with etched lines in shades of brown, emerging from the darkness. Looking at this, I imagine Kirchner hunched over a metal plate, acid fumes tickling his nose as he scratches away at the surface. There’s a tension here, a raw edginess. He's part of Die Brücke, and I can see him wrestling with the legacy of German Expressionism, those stark contrasts, those emotionally charged lines. Look at how the figures emerge from the patterned ground of the bed, it's like he's digging them out of the unconscious. And those faces in the back, are they watching us or the sisters? It makes me think about Munch. Artists are always building on each other, wrestling with the past, trying to break free. I try to do the same in my own painting practice. It’s an ongoing conversation, a dialogue across time. Kirchner embraces ambiguity, inviting multiple interpretations. It’s like he's saying, ‘Here, feel this. Make of it what you will.’