Lezende joodse man Possibly 1908 - 1923

Hermann Struck made this print of a Jewish man reading, and I imagine him working with acid on a metal plate, pushing and pulling, trying to capture light and shadow in those tiny little marks. I wonder what it was like for Struck, a Jewish artist in the early 20th century, to create this image? Was he thinking about tradition, identity, or the simple act of contemplation? The man’s face is hidden in shadow, but you can see the weight of his hand on his head, the way the lines create texture in his beard. It's like he's trying to pull the wisdom from the pages. The whole scene is rendered in these delicate lines, a real contrast to the weight of the subject matter, reminding me a little of Rembrandt’s etchings, that same play of dark and light. Ultimately artists are always in dialogue, aren’t they? Reaching across time and space, inspiring each other to see the world in new ways.