Mussolini Visits Spain 1940

Beatrice Mandelman created this drawing, Mussolini Visits Spain, with what looks like charcoal or graphite, using smudgy marks to create a really dark, heavy atmosphere. Looking closely, you can see how the grainy texture and tonal variations achieved through mark-making are really important. The whole scene feels oppressive. The eye doesn’t rest. Nothing feels resolved. See that figure who looks like he is tending to the fallen body? I love how the artist leaves the drawing open, unresolved, as if unsure whether this figure is helping or causing harm. Mandelman's expressionistic mark making gives this scene its power, almost like the visual equivalent of a scream. It reminds me of some of Kathe Kollwitz's bleak, anti-war lithographs. Ultimately, this drawing feels like a visceral response to the times in which she was living, and a testament to the power of art to hold onto uncomfortable truths.