Standing Female Figure 1951 - 1952

Max Weber made this tiny woodcut, Standing Female Figure, and I love how the process is right there on the surface. You can imagine him wrestling with the block of wood, digging out these bold shapes. The texture of the wood itself becomes part of the image, doesn't it? It's not trying to be slick or perfect. The grain and the little imperfections—they give the figure this raw, almost primal energy. Look at the way he's carved out the negative space around her body. It's like she's emerging from the darkness, or maybe being consumed by it. There's this tension between the figure and the ground that's really dynamic. And then there’s that simple palette. The stark contrast of black and white makes everything feel so immediate and direct. Weber reminds me a little of someone like Paula Modersohn-Becker, in that they’re both searching for a new way to represent the human form, something that feels both modern and deeply connected to the past. But really, art is just this ongoing conversation, right? It’s never about one right answer, but about embracing the questions.