Tote vor der Stellung bei Tahure 1924

Otto Dix made this etching, "Tote vor der Stellung bei Tahure", using dark, scratchy lines and a range of gray tones. Just imagining the biting into the metal, building up these nightmarish visages. The artist’s hand must have been so heavy, and his heart, even heavier. The image seems to claw its way out of the surface. Those lines, like scars, must have taken such effort. What was Dix thinking about as he made this? Was he trying to exorcise the horror? It’s like he’s building these figures from the ground up, the way a painter layers paint, except here, it’s grief and trauma he’s piling on. I see echoes of Goya, but with a raw, modern edge. Artists work in this kind of ongoing exchange, each adding their mark to the conversation. These images of destruction and despair always feel ambiguous. Like Dix is saying something without saying anything at all.