Landscape with Peasants and Animals 1918

Heinrich Campendonk made this woodcut, called Landscape with Peasants and Animals, using bold, graphic marks to create a whole world. The simple palette of black and white lets the shapes and forms really pop. I always think of artmaking as a conversation, and this piece feels like a shout across a field! Look at the texture Campendonk achieves, even with just black and white. The way he carves out the figures of the peasants and animals, they almost seem to vibrate with life. The crispness of the cut gives a tactile quality, like you could run your fingers over it and feel the grooves. It reminds me a bit of the German Expressionists, like Kirchner or Heckel, who were also playing with woodcuts around the same time, pushing the limits of the medium. This work feels raw and immediate, and it's a great example of how artists can create something powerful with very simple means. It just goes to show that art is about more than just technique – it's about vision, and about the courage to put that vision out into the world.