Rape II (Raub II, Weib halb) 1911

Wilhelm Lehmbruck made this intaglio print called "Rape II (Raub II, Weib halb)" without a specified date, and it's now housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The pale, ghostly figures are caught in an ambiguous embrace with minimal detail, leaving the viewer to fill in the emotional blanks. Look at the fine cross-hatching used to create shading on the man's back - it almost feels like you can see the pressure of the artist's hand in these marks. The texture of the plate itself adds to the sense of something raw and unfinished. That scratchy line running down the woman’s arm, it's like a physical manifestation of tension, a rupture in the surface mirroring the violence of the scene. The figures could be wrestlers but the title tells us differently. This brings to mind other early expressionists like Edvard Munch, who used similar techniques to evoke intense psychological states. Ultimately, the piece embraces uncertainty, inviting us to confront uncomfortable truths about human relationships.